


Return of the Sea

by CocoB0n



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Verse, Sirens, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Thriller, siren au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27750265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CocoB0n/pseuds/CocoB0n
Summary: “My name is Dream” The siren finally stated, turning his head to the human to stare at the fascinating brown eyes once more “What is yours?”.The man hesitated when looking at the unnatural eyes of the siren, knowing deep inside that the creature was a monster. For some reason though, he felt like the other wasn’t out to hurt him this time.“George” The brunette mumbled “My name is George”.~~~Dream is a siren whose on the run from humans trying to kill him for his scales. He abandons his village to escape from the hunters tracking him and begins to relive past horrors while on the run. Close interactions with dangerous sea creatures, vicious humans, and a god-like figure makes him realize who the real dangers are and finds himself on a journey to help his enemies.(Hiatus while I edit older chapters)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Darryl Noveschosch, Clay | Dream & Dave | Technoblade, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 83
Kudos: 289





	1. Sunset

Green emerald eyes gazed above the rough oceanic surface. The cold waves he’s been used to for years crash above, showing no mercy for anything in its way. The sea was a dangerous area to be, especially when the moon was at it's fullest. This time of night was when the ocean was the strongest. 

If one rose too high to the surface, there was a risk of being seen by the lingering eyes of humans. Humans, presumably the most cruel and disgusting creatures a siren could ever face. They would hunt for anything they could consume or sell, seeing creatures as products of wealth. Selfish and greedy, he wished harm upon them all. 

The star light glistened on the water's surface, giving him a perfect chance to emerge from the depths. His stomach growled in demand for fish, but this side of the ocean was scarce in materials. All the humans who lived nearby were killing the fish in an attempt to lure out a legendary siren. A cruel tactic for their own wealth.

As his eyes adapted to the moonlight, a shadowed ship could be seen on the horizons. Small rumbles in the waves that bumped onto his chest signaled that the ship was moving closer to where he was. There was only one reason to go this far out, and that was to try and capture a siren. He needed to get closer, to properly examine the threatening presence. To ensure if his hypothesis was right, he could warn the others. 

With a final glance toward the lightened up horizons of human civilization, he sunk back under the water. The ocean would protect him, it always protected him and creatures of the sea. Any human who would dare to kill one of his kind will meet the sea's wrath. 

As the young siren swam closer to the dangerous unknown, he was made painfully aware of the bones lining on the seafloor. Not fish bones, siren bones. It was a dumping ground of another tribe's remains, unfortunate sirens who made their territory too close to humans. 

It was saddening, but he had to stay strong. It was either his tribe or theirs, and If any information could be gathered from his observations, even just being able to _capture_ one, then he could help his tribe.

The green eyed siren swam near the tall sea grass, his green tail blending in. Where he floated he could see humans moving around above. Only the head of their disgusting features could be seen while they gibbered in their native tongue. A language shared among both creatures.

He could see the ship made of hard material unlike anything he’s seen before. It was brown and stiff. There was a large pole that came from the middle and held a grey piece of cloth up above. It had a insignia of a skull, a siren skull. Standing proud and looming.

Disgust and hunger swelled in his stomach. He was so damn hungry and humans were hogging all the fish but more than that, his tribe was dying from hunger. His people, at deaths reach, all because of these greedy humans.

The siren emerged from the ocean again, this time to get a better look at the people from above. He could hear the laughter and glasses clinking with each other. The lights on the boat were vibrant and hurt his eyes. It should be dangerous to have something so dazzling unreachable, sparkling in mockery at him. 

As his head rose up to hear more of the unknown words that held strange tones and pitches, he could see a body tipping dangerously close to the ship's edge. The figure appeared blurry due to it being so close to the light, but it seemed to be a human man. He had dark brown hair with his sides shaven and the body was lean with no real muscle. It seemed like a weaker human but could be just as dangerous. 

The human was trying to balance on the railing, an evil smile on its face showing its dull teeth. It was strange to see a human being so clumsy but when he moved to try and get closer, their eyes met.

It was a piercing feeling, the human had such dark brown eyes that he has never seen in another siren before. The human was able to hold so much white in its eyes, as it gazed at him with an agape mouth like it was planning to eat him. He wouldn’t, no, he couldn’t let that happen.

He glared his striking eyes at the human, sinking himself lower in the water to prepare to swim off. His fins were the fastest among his tribe, he’d have no problem escaping from mere humans. Especially from a human so weak and fragile as this one. They stood no chance. 

Just as he was prepared to dip down under, the human had lost its footing and began to fall over into the cold unforgiving sea. It was if time stopped as he watched the falling brunette reach closer to an ugly demise. 

If he let the human fall to its death, then he could swim off without anyone knowing he was there. He could reach his village in time and warn them of the horrific humans that were making their way towards them, could protect the newly hatched sirens who were so young and lively, could protect their future. Or he could save the human. A creature so awful that only wanted to kill him. Something that had only greed and gave pain. Still, his morals told him he could never stoop so low as a human. 

He remembered when he was younger and still lived in the shallow warm water lake where humans and sirens were mutual. When his mother would tell him hatchling myths of how humans were just sirens who managed to find freedom on land. She would go on and on about how caring they could be and they also had love in their heart. He used to believe his loving mother, also sharing the same belief until the day those _caring_ humans took away every single thing he loved. 

There was no reason to save such a human, but he didn’t stop himself from doing it anyway. When the splash was heard of a body hitting the water, he made his decision. He fell under the crisp waves and breathed in the sweet water that comforted his gills. As his eyes adjusted to the oceans dynamic, he could see the flailing legs and arms sinking under further and further. Quickly making haste, he swam up to the drowning human that appeared to be struggling to breathe. It was honestly an amusing sight, the ocean did not give humans permission to use the water to breathe. They only could use the air, something he himself was able to use as well. 

When the drowning man noticed the siren creeping near, he started to flail harder. His arms were making wild movements that made the siren wonder if it’d even be possible to help the other. Still, the siren would try. 

Using his green tail to support most of the mans body weight and holding the humans hand with his own finned ones, he pulled the human to the surface so it could breathe. 

As the two broke the ocean surface barrier, the human began to take gaping breaths of air. It was hyperventilating and shivering profoundly. There wasn’t much that could be done for the other's coldness, but then again the human should be thankful it was alive. 

The two breathed, staring at each other. The brown eyed man seemed confused by what he was looking at. It’s eyebrows were ruffled together and it seemed to still be struggling to maintain its balance. His human eyes were filled with bewilderment and fear. 

When he had the human in his hands, he could feel how bone skinny the other was. If the other was a siren, it'd mostly be considered a weak one. 

Now that he had the other in his arms, he didn’t actually know what to do. Yes, the human was safe but he didn’t know how to exactly return it. He was carrying in a ticking time bomb, if this human started to shout and yell alerting the other members, it was off with his head. 

The human did not yell or shout though. It stared at him with his deep brown eyes, taking in every description of his body. It was almost creepy how much the human was looking. 

Before he could think more on where to leave the human, he felt an impact onto his throat. It was a pressured bullet, impaling the crevice of where his shoulder and neck met. The bullet was so damn painful as it began to vibrate his whole being. 

With a strangled cry, he dropped the human man and fled under the water's surface. The humans knew the man was there now, he had no more responsibility in helping those inferior creatures. Trying to help one of their kind, getting a bullet to the neck. 

There was no way he’d look back to that ship, that horrid ship that could’ve ended him in five seconds if he stayed longer. They had harpoons and guns that only took one shot to kill him. Whatever they shot him with before, didn’t kill him though. He could still feel the thin piece of material suck inside his neck but he had no way of removing it. It was impaled too far into him. 

He swam. Swam as far as the current could take him. To bring him home to his tribe in which he had a responsibility to protect. The muffled sounds of screaming and the boat ruffles were the only signal of his encounter that he had left. He needed to make it back home alive because there was no way the boat wouldn’t find his tribe. It was a race against time, to be sure he could ensure their safety. 

While he swam through the current, the blood leaking from his neck left a scent trail that any sea creature could track. Whether it be sharks, whales, or other sirens. It was a dangerous situation and he needed to mask his smell before the situation turned dire. 

When he turned passed a large rock into a sandy clearing, he saw something devastating. Something must’ve smelt him and had to be hungry enough to fight a siren. With no fish in these areas, the only food outcomes were large sea creatures weaker than you. At this moment, he had a open wound therefore making him a prime target, prey to any creature stronger than him. 

Dark beady eyes of the shark turned to stare at him dead in the eyes. The giant creature had thick skin not even his teeth or claws could impale. Along with the sharp teeth that were exposed once the creature opened up it's mouth, there was also a high likelihood that he’d die on the spot.

He needed to get out of there. His strength was outnumbered but he had to survive and in order to do that, he needed to think fast. There was no time for those with a disadvantage, survival was the only goal. To survive, you have to be smart and fast, very very fast. 

The siren noticed how starved the shark was and how it’s left fin had a black printing of oil stuck onto it. That meant the animal was slow, oil from the humans probably fogging it’s lungs. It was rather sad to see the creature in such a state but at this moment he was very thankful. If he could just get around where the creature was blocking his path, he could out swim it. 

The only problem was, the creature was making haste towards him. His eyes widened and his mind calculated all the possibilities he had. While he backed up a bit to look around, he saw a abandoned ship not too far off in the distance. It was a perfect plan if he could lure the creature into it’s depths, tricking it and keeping it for a chase. 

He took a sharp right and swam as fast as he could to the ship. Luckily for him, the shark couldn’t detect the plan and ran straight after him into the abandoned area. The tubes inside were small enough for him but not for the shark. If he could hide in the vents and make his way out on the other end, he could confuse the shark long enough to make an escape. 

The siren slipped underneath the creaking floorboards of the mossy ship entering a large room. He had no time to waste though and glanced around quickly for any small spaces. At the bottom of the room there was a vent rusted enough that he could break open, if he was fast. Luckily, he was and swam straight to the near broken vent cover. Using his long nails, he popped each screw out of it’s resident spot. 

The shark finally had made it into the room he was in, detecting him straight away from the smell. It charged at him in a threatening speed and he almost didn’t pop the cover open. He could’ve made it inside but his hands slipped. It took another try to open the cover, this time though he was able to successfully uncover the vent. 

Just as he slipped through, he could feel the harsh chomp slammed into his tail. Pain shivered through his spine as he cried out for the second time that day. The numbness he felt as a small section of his tail was cut as he ripped it from the sharks mouth. He knew it would grow back, but it didn’t make the situation any better, or levitate the harsh throbs pulsing against his skin. 

He followed the vent through the whole way before coming to a divide. There were two ways, left or right. Right seemed the most favorable but left was his first choice. In a panic, he turned to the left and saw the vent go up.

_Perfect_ , he swam upwards until he emerged from the top of the ship. The shark had to still be searching under the boat. It would take a few minutes before it would realize he’d escape. Taking the opportunity, he fled back into the dark ocean begging, that there would be no more hazards. 

The rest of the ocean was a quiet zone. No fish, sharks, or sirens anywhere. It would take a little while longer for him to reach the tribe but he knew he’d be safe as long as he continued in the direction he was going. Internally, he always knew where the village was. Where the ocean lead him, that is where home was. 

While he sailed the rest of the current home, the numb drowsy feeling he got from the bullet still inside his neck hadn’t faded. It was a weird technological thing humans must have developed. He didn’t know why or what it’s purpose is, but he felt like it couldn’t be good. A sneaking suspicion told him it had to be a bomb or maybe a tracker, but his mind was dull still from the aching of his tail. 

Humans have been advancing their technology more and more since siren hunting became a thing. Before they were treated as objects, they used to be the guardians of the water. They would maintain balance between hunters and the hunted. Like in the legend his mom used to always read to him, where she told him how humans were once sirens who learned of love. Those were the stories in his old tribe, where he used to have a family. 

In the new tribe he resides in, they teach the young sirens only of how to protect and defend themselves. Instead of being told their voices were angelic strings to calm any heart, they are told their voices are weapons for any unsuspecting victims. Instead of being taught that their fangs are confident aspects of who they are, they are told that they are killing machines and must be hidden or else a human would know who they are. This mentality of being a monster was so foreign to him and it was sad these young hatchlings wouldn’t know sirens' beautiful culture of who they were.

They were not monsters, they were civilized creatures. 

It would be impossible to convince his kind though. The peaceful time period of when he was young was a long time ago. Nice humans did not exist anymore and the ocean wasn't that strong to protect them. The sea, a legendary being, only watched over the sirens now. And as he was told, even the sea could not stop the humans rampages anymore. They were on their own. 

Achingly, he could see the silhouette of the rocky terrain that made up his tribe. It was a rough place to live but when you’re always moving, you need to make a fast decision. The home was only temporary until the hatchlings were old enough to make longer trips and then they would find a new home to make more new hatchlings. 

While he got closer, he could see the old tribe leader making his way towards him. Time showed on his face, an elderly man of nearly a hundred years. He was well respected by the others and even took him in when he was an orphan swimming on the oceans current. 

“Dream,” The elderly man whistled “You’re alive."

Dream offered the man a pained smile, trying not to groan from the throbbing in his neck and tail. All he wanted was to sleep in his nest and maybe eat some sea grass. Maybe he could get one of the medic sirens to offer some pain reliefs. Yet, as his mind cleared with the danger he knew he held, he realized none of that would be possible anymore. 

“Yes, tribe leader” He nodded “I am alive but... we are in danger."

The tribe leader's once relieved face was now stoned cold. It made Dream feel awful but what he had to say what was important for all of them to know. His tribe, his new family, they needed to know what was coming. 

“Humans are very close by. They are still near the shore but they are making their ways toward us.”

Other sirens had started to gather around at the commotion. Even some hatchlings were butting in as well to hear what the grown ups were talking about. It broke his heart to worry such innocent souls but he needed to protect his tribe. If they stayed here, they were better off dead or broken. 

“They impaled me with some sort of bullet. I didn’t want to think about it too hard but it’s very likely that it contains tracking materials."

Everyone who heard gasped in alarm. Small whispers of side conversations started to erupt. _Where should they go. Should they kill Dream. Were the hunters already on their way. Were the hatchlings old enough to make such a long journey yet. How far would they need to go. Was escaping even possible?_

_“Quiet”_ The tribe leader demanded “Continue with the information."

Dream took a deep breath. “If my theory is true, then the humans would be heading here right now, but I will lead them in the opposite direction from the tribe." The reality of it all hurt, feeling as it had only been a few months he spent with his village rather than years. "I will go south to where the land is sharp and you guys should migrate north. There's rumors' of the north having warmer climates for the hatchlings and more fish must be there as well."

“What about you Dream” one hatchling cried, holding onto the other. 

Another one came from the crowd to hold onto his tail “You’ll come with us right?"

He could understand their worry, at the moment he was the strongest siren in their tribe. Many of their stronger warriors had died from sharks and whales after the fish shortage leaving behind only the younger and elderly weak sirens. He was the last one remaining because he wasn’t originally from the village. Although they did have quiet a few sirens his age, they weren't ready to fight against most of the creatures in the ocean. 

Even if he was strong, there wasn’t any way he was able to protect the village forever, hell no siren should be used to fighting any sea creature in rough terrains as the one they lived in. He couldn’t wait and watch hatchlings grow up to die in battle. They needed a stable environment, even if he wouldn't be able to join with them. 

“Tribe leader” Dream sighed “I want to thank you for saving me when I was younger."

He wrapped his arms around the elderly man. The sound of the man's harsh breathing could be heard. Even though he was so old, he put all his energy in making sure the village was taken care of. The man was such an amazing leader and father figure. He didn’t want to turn his back on them. 

“Please” Dream asked brokenly “Let me save you guys one last time."

The soft webbed hand that patted his golden hair made his eyes widen. Although the tribe leader didn’t answer verbally, he knew what he meant. Sirens were very physical creatures who could understand meaning by their actions. He knew the elderly tribe leader was agreeing with him with bitterness. 

His heart felt wrecked as he pulled away to see the old man with a soft smile on his face. The same smile that was offered to him when he was alone and had nobody. The home he had to leave behind. 

“Okay guys, I have to leave now” Dream mumbled, shaking off the hatchlings attached to his tail “I want you to listen to your parents and take care of the village in my stead okay?” The hatchlings nodded before reluctantly swimming back to their caretakers, only watching in distance as Dream turned his back. 

With one final look at his once fellow tribe members, he turned tail and started to make his way south. He didn’t look back, he had no heart left in him to do so. If he looked back, there was no way he’d be able to continue. It took all his strength to lift his head and return to the journey into the southern depths. With an aching tail and throbbing neck for company.

If those humans did try and capture him, they were gonna have just as much difficulty doing so as Dream would have even surviving in these oceanic conditions. 

The south was a brutal waste zone. There were even less fish, colder temperatures, and more whales that guarded the coast line. Those were the hazards he knew of, but there were still unknown creatures and environments that could be lying in his path. Rumors of large ice obstacles and birds who swam in the sea used to only be merlore but now a hypothesis he would have to check. 

If the hunters could catch him, he’d give up and let himself be taken. That was, if he didn't die from the weather or an unknown creature first. He would make it difficult though, if he was gonna be treated like an expensive treasure then they would have to pay for it by dealing with the ocean's rage. 

After a while, Dreams stomach rumbling was the only sound in the immediate area. The ocean wasn’t empty but every creature knew that being silent was the only way to survive. One small movement sound would alert the siren in the water. He was patient and would wait for one small fish to slip us so he could finally feast. 

He didn’t want to stop moving to spy out a fish. It was dangerous to stop and rest, any second the shark from earlier could appear or the ship would find him again. It had been hours since he left his tribe but somehow it felt like days. While being in the cold made time go by slow, having not rest making him weak, he still understand the concept of _keep going_. 

His injury on his neck had scabbed over and his tail had already managed to adapt to the weird cut feeling. Although his constant movement wasn’t allowing for the fragile fins to heal, he could live with it as long as there was no more blood in the water. As long as his scent wasn’t in the area, he had a small amount of safety and privacy. 

The water was freezing but he knew it would only get worse. These conditions weren't survivable for sirens, if their body reached a certain temperature then their tails would freeze up and they would drown. It would be a terrible fate for a siren but not an uncommon one. Besides humans hunting them, freezing was the most common type of death. 

A dead fish started to rise in the water. It must have recently passed because there was no sign of decaying on it. It was just beginning to float to the surface. That must have been some sort of symbol that things were either turning for the better or for the worst. 

As the carcass floated up, Dream lunged for the flesh and immediately ripped his fangs into it. The body was cold and held no sort of flavor. It’s lifeless body only serves as the nutrient for his food deprived body. While he picked every bit of meat off, he saved the bones in his hands. If he needed, he could use them to poke a sharks eye out if he was cornered. It was unlikely but there was always a chance. 

After a few more hours with his tail unable to move anymore, he decided to search for some sort of rocky area to fall asleep. The only sort of cavern that wasn’t occupied was one that was close to the surface. The cave was like a gaping hole, it was filled with water but if one wasn’t careful then a human could easily spot whatever was inside. It was the only form of shelter nearby and although it was risky, he had no choice. He must rest. 

Dream crawled into the tight space. It wasn’t like his nest back at his tribe but it turned out to be very comfortable for rocks. After his meal, he only felt more tired. His bones ached, his skin felt like it was on fire, and his tail throbbed. Even his nails were starting to dull due to how much he was scratching at himself from stress, he must’ve lost at least four scales by now. 

The ocean ripples that danced above him calmed some of his nerves. The sun was bright into the sky. If he was back in the village, he would be dead asleep. That luxury wasn’t around anymore and he couldn’t sleep just based on the sun's position. He was lucky that he found such a place when he did, there would be less chances to rest the further he continued south. 

As he felt his eyes force themselves closed, he couldn’t help but wonder what his life would be now. How would he survive in this environment? It was dangerous and it's been a long time since he was alone to fend for himself. 

The quiet aroma of the sea rested his mind as he fell into a deep slumber. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed :3 Please leave a comment if you want because I'm a simp and It motivates me


	2. Twilight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream debates whether to choose the easier or harsher path in life.

The sound of the ocean storming could be heard even from Dreams deepest sleep. Waves crashed onto each other and small patterns of droplets broke the water's surface. A storm must have been brewing above but he could care less.

As he slipped back into an unconscious state of mind, his body started to tingle. It caused him to shiver and when his eyes finally fluttered open, he realized why he felt so off. 

A large shadow casted above head due to a ships large presence. It was the same ship from earlier because the clothed insignia still was waving proudly above. This time the ship wasn’t moving though, it remained in place. 

_How have they already found me,_ Dream thought frantically. 

He struggled to move his tail because of how sore it was. He traveled for so long but the ship didn’t seem to need sleep. It marched it’s way through the sea with no living aspects to it at all. The ship loomed overhead with a promise of death whispering to him. 

Finally managing his tail awake, he slipped out of the cave and met head first with a long chain. As the chain moved further down, there was a open caged box with fish meat inside. 

Did they think he was stupid? That such a small amount of fish would lure him into such an awful trap. He almost wanted to laugh at how pathetic the attempt was. If he wasn’t trying to fight for his life, he might have teased the humans by swimming close but he gave no chance.

The south was calling his name as he bolted to the direction he knew was opposite to the tribe home. His tail beated against the water as fast as it could and his gills flared. For some reason, the ocean was starting to smell rather awful. 

First, it was just a bad stench to his noise. After a second though, he realized he could not breathe. A thick liquid surrounded his face and body. The substances that were poured into the ocean were chemicals and if he stayed underwater any longer, he would die. 

Besides not having any oxygen, the feeling of chemicals in his eyes were starting to burn. Even his skin was tingling in discomfort. 

He could risk the chance and continue the swim under the water to hopefully reach the clear sea, but it was unlikely. The water around here was shallow and he would eventually suffocate. The surface was his only option. 

Emerging from the bitter damaging sea that stung his eyes, he gasped for the air he so needed. It painfully swelled his chest as he violently coughed out any chemical fluids still sticking itself to his throat. The pain began to swarm his whole being as he kept getting sicker and feeling more awful. The whole situation was a rude awakening. 

His emerald eyes glanced upward just to see a net falling from above right over himself. He could only watch as the inevitable fate was met. He was going to be captured, there was no other solution. 

If he fled, he would die. If he was captured, he still had a chance at escaping. So being captured was his best chance at survival. 

The roped net landed harshly on his skull. It was worse with the pressure already formed in his head. As his body became encased by the net, he couldn’t help but patiently wait for himself to be hoisted onto the ship.

The rope material that rubbed painfully onto his tail was causing blisters and his gills were getting rashes because of the net too. He was starting to wonder if the chemicals would’ve been a faster way out of this hell. If death was the safer option. 

“I got it” One random human voice shouted “It’s a big one too”. 

_How am I big,_ the siren thought bitterly, _I’m starved and my last meal was a damn guppy._

As the net was lifted higher and higher, finally reaching the top of the ship, he could see three human men staring at him with wide eyes. One of the men being the brunette he saved. 

_Wow,_ He thought sarcastically, _way to return a favor._

“It’s fins are such a lovely shade of green, It’s so cute” One of the men gushed “It’s almost the same color as my eyes”. 

“It’s green?” The man he saved asked “I thought it was a golden color”. 

_Yellow,_ Dream thought in anger. One of the most disgusting colors a siren could show that stood out so much, and that man had the audacity to call him yellow. 

In a fit of rage, the siren flicked his tail violently onto the net causing the men to stagger to keep hold. With quick movement, they grabbed the siren on board and quickly overpowered him with the net and body weight. 

The three men held him down onto the floorboard, two guys on his tail while one guy sat on his stomach to keep from getting up. Luckily, the one guy on his chest was the skinny brunette. 

“Quick” The man demanded “Someone get me the fish tank”. 

Dream scoffed “I’m not a fish, you disgusting oxygen breather”

If his tail wasn’t being held down, he could fling this lightweight off of him with no issue. He was almost tempting to try but felt that wouldn’t go well anyway. He was outnumbered and being above the water only made him lose his energy faster. 

The brunette stared at him in shock “Wait, this one speaks?”. 

Realizing his error, Dream groaned in frustration. He shouldn’t be revealing anything about sirens to this man yet he here was blabbing out dumb insults. It would be much easier to just shut up and keep all their attention off of him. His cover was already blown though, so he had no reason to filter anything. 

“Get the heck off of me” Dream sighed “I barely have energy to breathe right now. Is a dead siren what you want?”. 

The brunette seemed to think for a second “It wouldn’t be much of a difference”. 

How cruel humans were. He saved this man from the jaws of death yet here he was, not even willing to get off him so he could breathe. It disgusts him. 

“I literally saved your life” The siren mumbled “I’m so glad that I made that decision”. Sarcasm laced his voice but the brunette seemed to catch on quickly. 

“Your words won’t fool me siren, I know you were trying to eat me”. 

Dream had to laugh, _eat him? A disgusting human?_ Even if he was dying from starvation he would never eat a human. 

“Trust me sweetie, you wouldn’t be appetizing”. 

The brunette scrunched up his nose in disgust, such an amusing facial expression. It caused Dream to grin as a response. Nothing about this encounter was hopeful of any sort of connection, only anger and disgust for each other laced with fake affection. 

“George” One crewmate called “I got the tank filled with water”. 

Dream turned his head for one second and wanted to return back into the chemical infested water. Anything would be better than what he saw. 

It was a glass talk about 5 feet long and 6 feet tall. It might have seemed larger to these humans but he stood at 6 feet and 3 inches. The box was a cramped space and it was full of any sort of seagrass, sand, or rocks. Just an empty bottom with nothing inside. 

“Get him in” The brunette ordered. 

Hands began to grab at him, hoisting him upward into the box. He wanted to struggle, he really did, but his body was so weak that he couldn’t. He was dehydrated and even his tail was starting to crack. If a siren didn’t have water for a long time, well, that was something he never wanted to find out. 

His body fell into the box and his gills started to swell at the new fresh water. It was an amazing feeling to finally breathe the way he liked. 

The relief only lasted so long before he saw the brunette from earlier lean in close to glass. He seemed to be observing him from every angle imaginable. Like the first time they met, his eyes gazed with curiosity. It was rather creepy and somewhat flattering that a human had so much interest in how a siren looked, rather than his scales. 

Speaking of scales, his started to fall off rather quickly. Stress levels in him were rising causing his body to lose control over his scale management. By his one minute mark in the box, two scales were sitting peacefully in the bottom of his cage. They flickered a bright green color that vibrated wealth to the humans. 

“So you are a talking siren” The brunette wondered aloud “Do you have a name”. 

Dream chuckled darkly “Why would I tell you my name? What are we doing, getting to know each other?”. 

With a final sigh, the brunette waved at a crewmate “We’re gonna take the fish to the empty room under deck. There, we will question him more”. 

The crewmate grinned before nodding. He knew this crewmate as the one who called his tail the same color as it’s eyes. It was a weird correlation, but as the man came closer he had to agree. The crewmate had aqua eyes that reminded him of the sea. 

As the man pushed him down the deck, he could only glare at the brunette he attempted to save a while back. Of course humans would betray, it’s in their nature. The man was no different then the humans who killed his previous tribe. 

Dream sank to the bottom of the tank while he was rolled away. It took a few minutes to get to the room under deck. He memorized the turns they took, just in case he needed to make an escape. It was two lefts and a right after they passed the stairs. When he finally did enter the room, it was a bleak space. The floorboards smelt rotten and there were no windows. All he could feel was the ship rocking back and forth which made his insides turn. He was placed in the corner of the room, close to an empty desk that had human writing on sheets of cloth. 

“This will be your new home, little siren” The crewmate explained “I hope you like it”. 

Dream glared at the man, disgust visibly present on his features “Thanks, this enclosure is perfect for my needs”. 

The crewmate grinned “I’m so glad! I worked extra hard to get this box”. 

He wanted to groan. _How was this man so optimistic?_ He was obviously being sarcastic but somehow it went straight over the others head. Still, this man seemed to be more on the lenient side. He’ll have to keep that in mind to see if it’ll be useful later. 

“Sooo” The man drawled, coming closer to the box “What is your name?”. 

“I’ll tell you if you give me something in return” Dream bargained “Maybe some food?”. 

The crewmate thought for a second, debating whether it’d be a good idea to make deals with a siren. After a while, it seems he made a decision. 

“Okay, I’ll get you fish if you tell me your name. But I want to know your name first”. 

Normally, he’d disagree. Having a deal with no leverage is a stupid mistake. The other didn’t have much to lose in this situation, but he was starving. The guppy he ate early did nothing for him. 

“If you bring me two fish, I’ll tell you first”. 

The crewmate nodded “Deal”. 

“Okay” The siren sighed “I go by Dream. What do your crewmates call you?”. 

The man smiled “Sorry, I can’t tell you. We know Sirens who are told the names of humans can curse our souls. But I will get you those two fish you’ve asked for!”. 

Dream snickered, the man was getting sea witches and sirens confused. He had no ability to curse a human even if he wanted to. That power was only given to sirens who made deals with black magic, but in doing so they lose their ability to use the voice of the sea. An ability he’d never reveal to any human if he could prevent it. 

He let the crewmate think however he wanted to, the more power they thought he had the better. The human ran out of the cabin and so he was left alone in the dark room. The water was cold and he felt fatigued from how cramped his tail was becoming. He slowly sunk himself down to crawl into the bottom cube. It was painful around his back but he was able to fit himself into a ball. A small nap before he ate would be a nice addition, as long as nobody woke him up. 

He steadily closed his eyes and he felt himself sink into a dream. 

He was floating in the middle of the wide ocean. There were no fish or other creatures nearby. The area around him was cold yet had almost no oxygen present in the water. It was a wasteland of sand. He began to swim in any direction, looking for some change in scenery but everything remained the same. 

After what felt like hours of swimming, he finally fell onto the sand. The material was soft against his face and it reminded him of his sandy home back where he lived with his mom. Suddenly, he felt as if the water got warmer and when he looked up, he saw the coral reefs. Thousands of sirens were swimming above him in a range of colors. Families with hatchlings, siren couples, and singular sirens were chatting above head with smiles all on their faces. 

It was such a familiar and beautiful sight. He wanted to join them but he couldn’t seem to lift himself from the ground. He could smell fish and watched as they danced around him. The pretty blue fishes that his mother always caught for him were in a school, bouncing from one way to another in an excited pattern. Their scales always glistened prettily when it was nighttime, it almost looked like the moon. 

Just as he went to try and lift himself from the floor, he could see his mom swimming above. She also had such a brilliant smile on her face, conversing with other sirens. They all looked so happy and he wanted to go with them. 

_“Do you wish to leave where you are now”_ A angelic voice whispered in his ear _“To join your kind in their travels?”_. 

He wanted to say yes, he wanted to scream for them to take him with them. This place was too good to be true, it was almost like the motherland. The land where all sirens could live freely without concern for any harm. A place where the mother would protect them and give them everything they need. Somewhere a siren could go only after they passed. 

That’s when he realized where he was. He shouldn’t be here, he still needed to survive. He had to distract the crewmates for as long as he could to protect his tribe. His duty in the sea had not been fulfilled, he needed to return. 

He could feel his body being tossed and turned, as a current bumped into him dragging him further away from the paradise. It broke his heart that he couldn’t join the others, but he promised himself that he soon would. 

Dreams eyes flung open to see eyes staring down at him. His body felt so hot like nails were pricking all over his skin and tail. He could hear the sizzling of his skin blistering up and it hurt so badly. Tears pricked in his eyes from the pain, banging onto the glass with weak webbed fingers. 

He had no idea why everything was so painful but he slowly figured it out when he realized his gills were not working. A breathed gasp entered his lungs as harsh oxygen burned his insides. Everything was so dry and disgusting. He needed water, it was the only thing to fix him. 

At this rate, he would die. 

“Water” Dream tried to scream “Water, please”. 

When he glanced up, he could see the eyes showing no mercy. Just casually documenting notes of whatever they were writing. Nothing about this should be interesting, he was a siren out of water and they were watching him die. 

His tail was aching as he could hear scales plopping to the floor. He was shedding and there was nothing he could do about it. Adult scales took not long to grow in, but it also wasn’t common to lose them. Most of his scales he had for years, to see them fall away from him so easy was a disappointing sight. 

He needed to do something, anything. There had to be some sort of escape he could pull off. He had one plan but it was risky, especially because there were so many humans around. The box was light because of the lack of water, and if he managed to distract them long enough, he could tip it over and he’d figure it out from there. Maybe take a hostage. There was only one to distract them though. 

Dream opened his mouth to let out his song. Even though his throat was scratched up due to the dryness and his lips felt cracked at the movement, his song didn't sound too bad. It was enough to memorize the humans as their eyes glazed over to watch him sing. 

Sirens only sang to escape from danger or to seduce another siren. Each siren had a unique song to them, their throats all shaved differently with scales on the inside that helped send different messages. 

After a few more seconds of the song, he knew he had to hurry up. If more humans came, there's no way this plan would work. He was lucky enough that three humans managed to fall for his voice, it was highly unlikely that the others would too. 

Quickly, he lifted himself upward and then pushed himself against the side. It caused the box to wobble over and smash onto the ground. The shattering sound was loud and the bits of glass encased his skin. 

As the sound bounded from the wall in a ear shattering clack, the door of the room flung open to reveal the brunette he saved from earlier. The man had wet hair and looked at his crewmates in confusion. 

“What are you idiots doing” The brunette shouted “Why is the siren not in water?”

The other crewmates were looking at each other in worry. They looked as if they didn’t want to rat out on who the ringleader of the plan was. They must have not been too loyal because eventually, one singular crewmate was pushed forward. The crewmate had an ugly expression, trying to feign innocence. 

“It wasn’t me” He swore “I was trying to save the siren”. 

The brunette scowled, grabbing the man but the tuff of his hair. His face was brought closer before spitting at the other. 

“Get the hell off my boat” The brunette growled, pushing the man away “All of you get. Out”. 

Within seconds, all the crewmates inside were scrambling to leave. None of them glanced behind as they scurried out with their frail dignity behind them. 

“Such idiots” The brunette muttered, not even glancing at the runaway crewmates “Why are you trying to hypnotize my crewmates, Siren”. 

Dream just panted at him, not even able to muster words into his throat. It was so dry and his whole body burned. His scales were throbbing rather painfully against his tail, making him want to rip every single one of them off. 

His defiant emerald eyes met with expressionless brown ones. 

“You’re acting like a fish out of water” The man chuckled “I guess you’re drowning, or is it suffocating?”. 

He wasn’t able to keep the staring contest up any longer, as his vision started to fade in and out. Colors were draining from his eyes as everything became black and white. It was hard to even see details of objects anymore. The man in the room just looked like a shadowed figure. 

It felt like the end, he was gonna die by suffocating. One of the worst ways a siren can go. Dying far away from the mother. All he wanted was to close his eyes and let the suffering end.

Dying wasn’t an option though. Not even five seconds after closing his eyes, water splashed onto his head giving some energy to rehydrate his skin. The painful burning came back but this time, he could open his eyes and see color once again. 

He hadn’t noticed, but he was in the arms of a human. The brunette man he had saved was now holding him while crewmates ran back and forth pouring buckets on top of him. They were trying to splash as much as possible before running off to grab more water. It was an amazing sight but what was even more amazing is that he was alive, breathing. 

The two were up on the front deck again. The sky was bright blue while the sun stung his face in the best way possible. The oceans breeze was so comforting and even if it was freezing out, he had never been so glad to feel such coolness. In the far distance, he swore he could hear a whale's call. Or a dolphins? He couldn't hear well.

Dream stared in shock, shakily looking upward at the brunette. Why would the human save him, he would be more useful dead than he was alive. He provided no worth other than his scales. 

“Don’t look too happy siren” The brunette grumbled “I only saved you this once because you saved me. This is the last time though”. 

They were so close to the edge and as more water hydrated himself, he realized he could survive. He could make it out of these humans' nests. 

“Thank you” The green siren chirped, relaxing in the human touch. He was in such a good mood, knowing he was okay and going to live. The brunette remained oblivious of his plan, practically ignoring the siren. 

“My name is Dream” The siren finally stated, turning his head to the human to stare at the fascinating brown eyes once more “What is yours?”. 

The man hesitated when looking at the unnatural eyes of the siren, knowing deep inside that the creature was a monster. For some reason though, he felt like the other wasn’t out to hurt him this time. 

“George” The brunette mumbled “My name is George”. 

Dream hummed “I’m glad to finally know your name,  _ George _ ”. The siren chuckled a bit before grabbing the brown haired man's cheeks in a tight grip, forcing a small peck of affection on the others forehead “See you around!”. 

With that, the siren wiggled from the others hold and successfully fell onto the wooden floor. George was too caught up processing what had just happened, he didn’t even have the time to realize the siren was escaping. All the crew mates were too busy getting water that they too hadn’t realized of the blonde sirens breakage. 

“Get the siren” George shouted once he recovered, trying to run after the creature, catching a few of the crew members' attention. 

It was too late though, Dream was on the edge of the boat. He was a strong siren, able to swiftly carry himself up the side of the ship and fall down into the depths of the ocean. None of the ship's members were even close enough to stop the inevitable. All they could do was watch as the green tail fell under the oceans surface. 

“Dammit!” George shouted “We need to get that damn siren back”. 

His two best mates, standing proudly next to him, agreed. One of them, with aqua eyes and fish in hand just let out a soft giggle while the other, with raven hair and tanned, groaned. 

“I think we’ll catch him again, we have the tracker” Aqua eyes mentioned, still staring out into the sea. 

“Yeah, and it isn’t like he’ll get far in the arctic” The raven haired man concluded “We’ll catch him within a week max”. 

George nodded, smirking at the empty spot where the siren used to be “Run all you want Dream, but we’ll get you”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter <3  
> I was gonna wait a week but I already have a few chapters piled up so I decided to just post it  
> See you next chapter :)


	3. Dusk Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream escapes human clutches just to fall into the hands of a more frightening beast

Dream hit the water with a harsh splash, the icy water freezing his bones. It was a harsh shock and his body was unable to adapt quickly causing him to sink into the depths of the ocean. 

While his body attempted to warm itself up, he stared around his surroundings. It was far away from where he was before, instead of average water the sea sunk so deeply he couldn’t see the bottom. No creature could be smelt within miles but there was a small whiff of decaying flesh. It was a gross scent and suddenly he didn’t feel alone in the ocean anymore. 

Kicking the water to try and give himself some sort of boost, Dream swam away from the ship as far as he could. He tried not to sink too low, unsure of any creature that could be lurking in the darkness. For all he knew, some nocturnal creature such as himself was sleeping but would be hungry once woken up. He couldn’t take the chance, he needed to be on the move. 

_ I’ve gotten away _ , The blonde siren thought, _ but they still have to chip attached to me _ . Touching the still tender flesh, he wondered what the best option would be. His internal sense of direction was telling him he was still moving further away from the tribe but he wasn’t sure if he was still going in a straight direction like before. His original plan was just to go deeper into the freezing water and maybe keep circling around until they gave up. Now he was starting to regret this plan and wanted to go to the warmer waters up North. 

He debated the option. If he went up North to his abandoned tribe then he could have a safe haven for a while. The waters were shallow and many humans lived in the area, but he knew there were shelter and fish. The tropical water was a breeding area for fish, it was the ideal place to live. Although it would be difficult to enter, the rewards would be plentiful.

Another problem would be the idea of more tribes. If he runs into him and they aren’t friendly, they most certainly will try and kill him. If they are friendly, then he is putting other sirens at risk. At least in the cold sea, there was no possible way to find Sirens. 

Dream was slowly riding the current, stomach growling in pain from how deprived of food he was. That crewmate never gave him the two fish, little liar. 

He must’ve been riding on the current too slowly because he hadn’t realized the looming ship that only was a few miles behind him. His confidence in his swimming skills assured him that there was no way for the ship to ever catch up. He had a strong tail, strong body, even when hungry he could swim fast and escape them. 

The waters became more rough and a shadow passed overhead. Dream glanced up and almost choked on the water surrounding him. 

The ship, moving faster than any ship he had seen before, was right behind him. There was no way the ship from earlier was moving this fast. It was near impossible for a human made vehicle to move so fast. 

“This is so unfair” Dream grumbled to himself pushing himself as much as he could to try and get away. How did they expect him to even have a chance when they got a ship faster than the fastest thing in the sea. Well, what he assumed was the fastest. 

That’s when he heard a sweet chirping and a smile crept up his face. Those chirping only belonged to one creature in the sea, and by far his favorite. 

Dream pushed his head above the water's surface to watch as his 'little buddy' came to the side of the ship to glare down at the blonde. 

“Dream” George shouted with a wide grin “We’re gonna catch you”. 

“Oh no, What will I do? You’re so fast” The siren drawled “I guess I’ll have to surrender now”. 

A raven haired man popped his head over from the side of the boat as well “Wait, really?”. 

George groaned, smacking the palm of his hand to his face “No Sapnap, he isn’t just gonna surrender to us. That’d be like a death sentence”. 

Dream chuckled “You guys are so stupid, I can’t believe you managed to lose a siren you had in captivity”. 

The aqua eyes man popped out from the side this time “Hey you little muffin, It wasn’t our fault”. 

This only made the Siren laugh harder “I bet you haven’t even managed to capture and keep one siren before, noobs”. 

Anger flared into George's face and he turned to the aqua eyed man “Bad, go get bows”. He turned his attention back to Dream, who was just peacefully floating there as if he didn’t have a care in the world. To make the brunette even angrier, the siren has a smug grin on it’s face while it just floated there, as if saying  _ do your worst _ . 

“I’m so scared” Dream chuckled “What are you gonna do with sticks?”. 

Bad ran next to George and handed him a bow along with a few arrows. It was a dark oak wood bow with a small marking carved into the side “Goodluck”. 

George made aim, pointing directly at the siren. Dreams smug expression quickly vanished, now replaced with fear. It made the human feel supreme, he was gonna catch this siren no matter what. 

The first arrow was shot and flung through the air nearly hitting Dream, but he just barely managed to miss. Said arrow dipped under the water and into no man's land. It was basically a warning shot. 

Dream gulped before sinking under the water again. When he did so, more arrows soared through the ocean water. More people must have gotten bows and made aim, because there's no way all those arrows came from one person. Each arrow that shot through kept barely grazing until one niched his shoulder blade. 

“Ouch” Dream gritted, holding the now small cut. It was slightly bleeding, which was a dangerous situation to be in. The last thing he wanted for some creature to smell his blood, to smell weakness. He needed his scapegoat now. 

Clicking his tongue. Dream began to let out his song. It wasn’t anything special but with the added water, it was able to transcend greater distance than on land. A few miles at most. Within seconds, a creature came from the gloomy sides and whizzed past him. 

_ Dolphin _ , Dream grinned,  _ perfect _ .

Continuing his song, he was able to lure the dolphin into his hands. He wrapped his arms around the smooth creature getting comfortable. After he was in a fair situation, he stopped his song and watched the creature go wild.

The dolphin began to speed, jumping from the oceans depths so it could breathe the oxygen like the mammal it was. His body jumped as the dolphin broke the water's surface, exposing himself to the humans who were still on the boat. 

“He’s got a dolphin?!” Bad shouted “How is that even possible!”. 

George groaned “Oh my god, this is so unfair”.

Dream only laughed at the others misfortune. He offered one more smug look before the dolphins carried him away. The best thing about this, is that dolphins knew where the warm coasts were. He basically had his own map as long as he rode the dolphins all the way out there. All he wanted to do was chirp in glee at his luck, it was rare to see dolphins nowadays and for them to come at the best moment was legendary. 

The dolphins rode along the current, moving further and further from the ship. It was becoming smaller by the minute, not even going it’s fastest would let it catch up. It’s impossible to be faster than a dolphin, all humans knew this. He could only imagine the red face of George, angrily stomping his feet from being outsmarted once again. 

Some part of him wanted to go back just to smugly look at the others' expressions. He couldn’t though, he needed to be on the move and get as far away as he could. There was one last place he knew that could shelter him from the humans without harming any sirens. 

After a few hours of riding the dolphins, he noticed a cove that was shallow. It was covered inside a cave and based on the smell, no creature was anywhere nearby. He knew there was a high probability of small fishes taking shelter there and some seaweed lying on the sandy shore of the cove meant signs of life. Compared to the freezing waters of earlier, this water was much warmer. 

Sneaking from the dolphins back, the siren swam into the unoccupied cavern. Sea grass tickled his fins as he sunk further into the lands. While he explored, he noticed miniature fishes quickly speeding around. A perfect spot. 

After a quick meal, Dream settled partly on land while his tail rested in the water. It made it easier to see if any ships were nearing his area, although internally he knew there would be no possible way to catch up so soon. Based on probability alone, he had three hours before the humans were on his trail again. 

“I haven’t eaten that much in so long” The blonde sighed, resting on his back to see a bats red eyes staring at him from the ceiling. They were rare for sirens sights but his mother used to tell him all about them when he was young. Bats weren’t mean, rather they were friendly and could lead blind sirens through the night. 

“One nap should be okay” Dream reasoned “I can’t think well sleep deprived”

Although he said that, his green eyes just couldn’t close. Adrenaline from earlier still rushed in his blood and kept him wide awake. It wasn’t good and he did feel some sort of fear. He almost died, his whole journey could’ve been ended right then and there and there was nothing he could do about it. 

It took a few moments, but he finally managed to force his eyes shut. Blocking out all nerve wracking noises that haunted his mind. Instead, he focused on the memories he had earlier. The voice that was talking to him, the familiar sirens that swam above him, and the memories of his mother. Everything was confusing but he felt like it had to mean something. 

_ Why do I feel like those humans aren’t gonna hurt me _ , Dream couldn’t help but wonder, _ and why do I keep thinking about them.  _

While he failed at sleeping, the soft crunching of sand could be heard moving near him. It was a few feet away but his ears were sharp, being able to hear dolphins from miles away. His scent was even stronger so he knew immediately, it was a human. It smelt strange though. 

“Oh? Why’s there a warm blooded siren like you all the way over here” A gruff voice asked, keeping a large distance “you appear to be far from home”

Green eyes glanced up, seeing a large man with a strong build leaning near the cave entrance. He wore a white shirt and brown ragged pants that were ripping. His pink vibrant hair was in a loose ponytail and his face covered by a pig skull. It was dim but blue eyes could vaguely be seen. 

There was a eerie feeling coming from the strange man, but nothing felt dangerous enough to runaway just yet. 

“Yeah, and who are you” The siren asked curiously, noticing the blood stained on the mask “you appear to be a inhuman pig”

The blood stench was human but as the man grew closer towards him, he realized it was only being used as a mask. The pink haired man was not human, he smelt much more venomous. It was like a siren yet at the same time, wasn’t.

“I guess you could say I’m a siren” The man sighed “Or at least I was”

The blonde didn’t try to gain further information. Any siren who wasn’t anymore had betrayed the ocean. Based on the creature's ability to stand, he was far from anything a siren once was. The conversion had to happen many years ago, burning away any evidence of being a siren except the salty smell that all siren blooder's contained. 

“Who are you” The blonde repeated, green eyes now growing suspicious. 

The pink haired man only gave a grin before turning away “Names Technoblade, I live in this cove here”

Dream looked down the cove. It was dark but kept going on for a long while. It would make sense if some creatures used this as a shelter. There were plenty of fish and the water wasn’t too bad. If he wasn’t on the run he would've made a shelter here as well. 

“My name’s Dream” the blonde replied, growing somewhat comfortable now “How long have you lived here”

“200 years”

Green eyes widened, looking back at the man who now was practically next to him. He hadn’t even heard the movement and the man was now giving off a more sneaky aura. It wasn’t menacing, just creepy. 

“Ha, you’re old “ Dream gulped, feeling small particles of sweat trail down his neck “wanna teach me your ways?”

It was a playful question, not meant to be taken seriously, but the answer had no joking tone to it. 

“I turn humans into sirens and take their energy” The pink haired man explained briefly “I only get energy from humans. Not sirens”. The anxiety filled look in green eyes vanished quickly after that.

“I’m worry free” Dream mumbled, looking down at his fins “humans are awful anyway, if they get turned into a siren they should be thankful I guess”

“Not many are” Technoblade chuckled “not like it’s a problem though”

“Why’s that?”

A dark look flashed onto the other ones face “Humans are corrupt worthless things, their suffering alone is my pleasure”

“Yeah” Dream grunted “Such worthless things”

Although he truly believed that, his heart kept aching after each sentence. His mind flooded back to the stories of humans his mother used to tell him, how hard each siren worked to someday grow legs and live on the above ground. How they would be filled with love and hope, and how badly she wished to become one with legs. 

Then, his mind began to think of George. A scary human who had him caged on his ship. The same human who just moments before was saved by a siren yet could so easily switch up and go against him. 

Finally, when he looked back at Technoblade, there was a sudden realization. 

“I’ve met quite a lot of sirens in my life” Dream stated carefully “I’ve never met one who said they used to be human”

A larger grin cheeked at the pink haired man “I never said I let them leave”

Suddenly, the blood scent of humans didn’t feel so comforting. It started to rot in his noise as his mind couldn’t get the image of dead sirens littering the oceans nearby. Very dead sirens yet they smelt like humans. Not because they were killed by humans per se, but maybe because of something else. 

“It’s rather funny actually” Technoblade chuckled “When humans are turned back into sirens, it’s never done correctly. Somehow they always manage to keep their disgusting blood”

That's all Dream needed to hear, his mind already made the connections far earlier. This man or siren was a psychopath. 

“You would kill sirens” The blonde growled, leaning himself closer in the water.

“They aren’t sirens” Technoblade explained “they’re just humans in a sirens body”

_ When is the line drawn, _ Dream debated with himself,  _ when is it considered a human or a siren. Are they really that different? _

His mother whispered to him when he was young, talking about how siren and human were the same and kept nagging at his brain. It was too much to process. 

Dream shivered as he could feel ghostly hands grabbing at his tail and arms, luring him away from the creepy masked creature. He had to escape from here, it wasn’t safe to stay anymore. 

In a quick notion, he dived back under the water and swam as far away as he could from the cove. The last thing he wanted was to meet that creature again. He felt like if he did, his life would be put on the line. 

While he got further and further from the cave, a voice threateningly poked at his ear, 

_ You can swim away as much as you want, but we will be meeting again. _

Shaking away the foreign thought, Dream kept swimming. He couldn’t turn around anymore with two dangers. He had to make it to the ruins of his old home.

After his small rest, traveling was a lot more efficient. He had the power and speed to make it to where he was going within a few more hours. His eyelids felt heavy but the thought of going home kept him awake. The sound of harmonics could steadily be heard in the distance, water whooshing by his ear. 

The journey was boring, the first hour being dead silent. During his quest of looking for his home, he saw a shiny object way in the depths of darkness. Although it was shallower than most of the vast ocean, it would still be difficult to reach down that far. 

“Is it worth it?” Dream chuckled to himself “maybe..”

Taking in a shaky breath, the siren swam with most of his strength to reach the rocky depths. It was dark and chilling, the sound of rocks falling making small echoes. The whispering sounds were heard all around him but he ignored it, instead grasping at the small pearl that laid down at the sandy floor.

When he touched the small object that had such a vibrant glow, he noticed how smooth the object was. It’s pink glow and smooth surface reminded him of the pebbles that washed up on beach shores near his birthing grounds. 

The voices around him seemed to get progressively louder, nearly deafening him the longer he touched the pearl.

_ Go back. _

_ Follow the trail of destiny. _

_ Save us.  _

_ We can’t be forgotten. _

_ Dream, _

_ You’re our last hope. _

Green eyes flashed open, dropping the pebble onto the sandy floor again. Electricity filled his spine and his hands began to shake. Like a quick breeze, the voices vanished into the ocean depths.

_ I should leave this here _ , Dream thought quickly while he snatched the pearl back into his hands,  _ this better be useful. _

With a slight adjustment to the now quiet voices mumbling around him, Dream swam out of the oceanic depths and into clearer waters. There, it was warmer and safer. The voices seemed to agree as well as they hushed into silence. It allowed him to concentrate and continue his travels.

While he had made good progress earlier, he was now delayed by the vision of a large ship making its way above him. It was a dark wooden ship with a navy blue ensemble hanging on top of a wooden pole. The statue of an omega siren holding a sword was scribed on the front of the ship

Dream noticed that the ship was different than the one George owned. It was moving above him, Completely oblivious to his presence. It appeared to be going somewhere else but far away from where he was going. 

A part of him wanted to continue going to his home but a calling inside was saying to follow the ship. He didn’t know why the voice inside of him was saying to go towards three dangers now, but if it had some potential of advance, then he could make a detour. 

_ Follow it. _

_ Hold our grounds. _

_ Need to be free. _

“Shut up!” Dream shouted, the voices once again falling into silence “I can’t think”

While he watched the ship go more toward the setting sun horizon, he knew what he had to do. There was no time to wander around, heck he didn’t even have much of a plan about going back to his birthing grounds. The safest plan was following the unknown. 

With a final sigh, the siren turned tail and began to swim closely behind the ship. Not enough to be seen but just close enough so he could vaguely see the outline of the wooden bottom. There was no plan, just a gut feeling, but instinct was the only thing he needed to survive.

If his instincts said to follow, then he would.

While he followed the ship through the chilling sea, he started to notice the familiar surroundings. It was an environment he was nearby just moments before. The sights of a large cavern met his view and he realized just how close he was to the creepy cave.

_ I swear I was just here _ , Dream thought shocked, _ I was literally right here not even an hour ago _ .

The dark wooden ship made it’s way to the sandy beach shore, a large anchor being throw over board into the oceanic depths. The water bubbled in displeasure, almost angry at the disturbance of it it’s once calm surface. The piece of iron metal sunk until it hit the floor with a stimulated clunk.

_ This is too risky _ , he couldn’t help but realize, noticing the figure of another ship already anchored onto the beach. This ship was more lightly wooded and had a familiar sight to it. Of course he couldn’t forget this ship, especially since he had spent a while captured on it. 

His heart hammered close into his chest as his breath quickened. Sounds of voices were starting up again, growling in anger to do something. He didn’t know what, but if he didn’t please them soon then he would go insane. 

Swimmingly closer to the stilled ships, blonde hair popped up from the water to see people arguing on the sandy shore. It was too far away to be heard but the tuff of brown hair was immediately recognizable. There was only one human that could be recognized by him in a flash. 

Said brown haired man was loudly shouting at another figure. More humans crowded nearby but none were brave enough to step in between the two. If the siren knew any better, he would’ve assumed the two just so happened to run into each other. 

_ George is arguing with the other humans _ , Dream couldn’t help but bitterly chuckle at,  _ he needs to learn how to get along with other humans better _ .

The argument seemed to get more heated as the two became closer to each other, hands gripping with swords in their hands. The loud shouts from earlier now replaced by genuine cries, as the scent of blood rushed towards him. Humans began to swarm around each other, tens of people at each others throats with no signs of mercy.

Dream knew Technoblade had to be nearby. He also knew that the humans that were after him were nearby. There were a few options he could use to intervene, but instead he chose to wait. Watch how the fighting would end up while debating a secure plan. A course of action to ensure the most reliable exit.

Green eyes rested at the brunette, a small smile reaching his face. 

_ He’s feisty _ , Dream thought in delight, _He reminds me of-_ _. _

While the human sunk further into the crowds of fighting, blonde hair slipped under the blue surface. He remained under the water thinking of the best course of action in securing his victory. As the voices that one screamed in anger zoned out, his mind concentrated to a detailed plan. The best plan to kill the humans and escape from the watchful eyes of the pink haired man lurking in the shadows of the cavern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted earlier than expected, just wanted to get out another chapter. Hope you liked this one!  
> The plot is getting more intense now and I have some good plans for this! I look forward to seeing you next chapter :D  
> See you soon <3


	4. Dusk Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream makes deals with the enemies to save his own problems

Dream swam close to the edge of the water so he could see all the fighting taking place up close. He used the rocks and sea grass for cover, wrapping himself as to not be seen. His once blonde hair now laced with seaweed was popping out from the water's surface, green eyes carefully laced onto the argument taking place. 

“Wilbur, tell your men to stand down!” George shouted, sword being caught in another's axe. The blonde man holding it was smiling a feral grin, blue eyes narrowing in impatience. 

“Tommy” A brunette across the field called “stand down”

_I guess that’s the leader, Wilbur, of the other group_ , Dream assumed _, and the blonde man is tommy._

As the fighting died down and participants moved to their designated sides, the siren was able to differentiate the groups. George's team seemed to all be wearing scrappy clothes but sharp armor that looked nearly unbreakable. Wilbur's team was wearing a navy blue uniform but their armor was more scratched up and broken. It was clear to see who the victors would’ve been. 

“What are you doing here” George heatedly shouted “this is open water, we’re allowed to travel”

“The queen wants a siren of her own” Wilbur explained calmly “and a little birdy told us you had made a connection with one”

_A traitor?_ Dream thought in amusement, _What a messy situation there is._

“Yes, we saw one” George carefully replied, hand now on his sword in preparation “but he’s escaped without a trail”

“Somehow I don’t believe that” Wilbur sighed, looking around at his men “you see, our members don’t lie here. If they said a siren is in your hands” dark eyes began to bore into each other “then there is a siren here”. 

“Your members are filthy liars” George exclaimed “even if there was a siren here, we wouldn’t give it to you”

“Oh listen here George” Tommy started up again “I’ll fuckin’ show you who the filthy liar-”   
“Tommy calm” Wilbur coldly threatened, eyes still attached to the leader on the other side “I don’t like when my men are insulted, but gentlemen don’t fight over petty insults”

“It appears your gentlemen are getting pretty riled up though” The raven haired from earlier chuckled. 

“Sapnap” George huffed, a slight smirk on his face “stop”

“Oh I’ll show you gentlemen” Tommy yelled “let me at him Wilbur”

“No tommy” Wilbur sighed “stand down dammit”

“Wilbur” the blonde whined “we need to take them down-”

“George I want to make a deal” Wilbur started “on this island is a pearl that the queen wishes to get a hold of, if you and your crew can get it for me, you will be paid heavily”

George eyes seemed to narrow at the offer “Why would I do that?”

“We know the queen has your boat banned on our waters” Wilbur explained “that can be revoked and you can capture any sirens who live nearby”

The stakes were high while the risks are unknown, Dream thought in disgust, how foolish can these humans be.

“How hard is it to achieve this pearl” George questioned “I don’t understand why you can’t do it yourself”

Wilbur huffed out a laugh “There’s a rumor of a man who guards this land and we don’t want to get our hands dirty dealing with him”

_Don’t do it,_ Dream couldn’t help but think, _Please don’t take his offer._

George was quiet, thinking of his options. The brunette fumbled with his sword for a second, glancing around his crew. Dream didn’t know what was going on in the others brain, but he knew it wasn’t anything good. 

“We’ll do it” George began with a smirk “but you two are coming with us”

Wilbur raised a eyebrow “My crew?”

“No” George shook his head with a evil smile “You and that blonde boy, we need some sort of leverage so you won’t screw us over”

“Tommy poses no leverage, he’s as useless as nails” Wilbur explained, but the already weak position he put himself in proved that the blonde was more to them than just a average crewmate “Me and another crewmate can go instead”.

Again, George was disagreeing “It’s either you both come, or we have a fight right here, right now”

Worrisome glances were exchanged on the battered up crew. There armor raggedly falling to the ground and looked to be on their last life. The last thing they needed was a battle to a guaranteed death.

“Alright” Wilbur finally agreed, tired features flashing through his face “Me and tommy will join you while the rest of our crews stay here”

A warm smile graced Georges lips, pride filling him without knowing the extent of what he agreed to. While they argued over where they were going to search for said orb, which Wilbur insisted he knew the way, a flash of pink hair was quickly noted entering the cavern.

“It’s rumored to be in the heart of the cave over there” Wilbur stated with a map in his hands “no one has explored it before and lived, but witnesses say that inside holds treasures unknown to human eye”

_No one’s lived because there's a human killing machine in there,_ Dream thought in disgust, _they’re gonna die in there._

“When the sunset dies, we shall explore the cave” George replied “until then, prepare”

With that, the two groups split going back to their individual boats. Dream took the chance then to escape to the deeper depths of the ocean, scrapping off chunks of grass from his head. Although the water was warm, he couldn’t help but feel chills run down his back. 

_I should leave,_ Dream thought in frustrating, _but I also can’t leave them with Technoblade._

Just the image of Technoblade converting the humans to sirens, scrapping away at their flesh, and ruthlessly taking all powers they posses was enough to make him sick. Even though he knew he shouldn’t feel this way, parts of him held empathy towards humans. They were creatures just like he was, they didn’t deserve to be massacred just how sirens don’t deserve to be massacred.

If they get the stone though, then his chase would be over. He wouldn’t need to swim around the freezing waters just to distract the humans anymore, they would have their own fill of siren infested waters. If he wanted to, he could find his people again and live with them.

With a caution glance, Dream darted toward the cave. He needed to find the pink haired creature, whether it was to find answers or stop him. Either way, he needed to talk to him no matter what. 

While he swam through the river flowing in the cave, the water kept getting shallower and narrower. Small rough rock were swatting at his tail while he whizzed by. The scent of decaying fish filled his nostrils signaling he was getting closer to his desired target.

“Technoblade” Dream called “I want to speak with you”

Almost out of thin air, the pink haired man appeared once more. This time though he appeared more human-like. His clothes were fancier and the mask from earlier was resting in his hands. A scarred up face with blue crystalized eyes greeted him.

“You’re back sooner than expected” Technoblade monotonically stated “would have appreciated a hello though”

A playful smirk hung on the pink haired man's lips, showing that he knew why the siren was there but not giving an ounce of information. There was no humor in the green eyes that stared back. 

“Humans are in the area”

“I am aware”

“They’re coming in looking for a stone” 

“I know”

“Their walking to their deaths” The siren accused.

"What does that have to do with me” Technoblade sighed “this is only beneficial”

Dream didn’t know how to go about everything. He wanted the humans to live and be free but at the same time, there’s no way that the power crazed creature would let them leave. It was stated far earlier that humans were his source of power. 

“I want to watch” Dream explained “those humans nearly killed my village and almost killed me”

Technoblade began to sit on the side of the cave walls, sinking next to a wooden box. The contents weren’t visible over the wooden cover, but it was easy to tell that whatever laid inside was dangerous stuff. 

“You’d only get in the way” The man poked at sand with a stick “I don’t have time to mess with a young sirens games”

“I have to protect my village” The siren pressed “I need to see with my eyes that you killed them”

“You can find their carcasses on the sea floor in weeks time”

Dream bit his lip, knowing that whatever he said wouldn’t get through to the other. He needed some way to guilt trip his way into staying. Although the pink haired man didn’t express much emotions, he did have a small hint of anger about humans. 

“You asked why a warm water siren was all the way in these waters earlier” Dream stated, lifting himself up out of the water so just his tail remained “I never told you why”

“Well, I don’t really care-”

“I used to live in a warm water lake with my mother, our village was small but somewhat friendly with the humans who lived nearby” The siren began “one day, I befriended a human boy and we spend nearly everyday together. Every afternoon we would play by the rocks and skip pebbles over the lakes surface. He always went on about how he wanted to see how the sirens live and how interested it’d be to become one”

“That’s interesting” Technoblade smirked “never heard of friendly humans before”

“Yeah, well, it didn’t last long” Dream sighed “After a while he became more interested in learning of sirens life and asked for me to bring him under the water. I complied but had no idea the human didn’t know how to swim. We swam all the way down to the waters bottom when he started to struggle. His face became red and I tried to pull him to the surface. I wasn’t fast enough, and he died before we made it to the waters breakage”

A sympathetic look crossed blue eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Later on, his mother found out and reported it to the kingdom. Within a day, hundreds of soldiers got on boats and began to hunt down every single siren who lived in the lake. There was no way to escape and all my village got massacred. I was only able to survive because I was smart”

Technoblade raised a brow “you were smart?”

Dream smiled shakily “Yeah, smart like you”

There were many details he let out, but decided it might not be the best to let the pink haired man know all his secrets. He just needed to bait him long enough to stay. 

“I also lost my village to humans” Technoblade frowned, dropping the stick that was drawing scribbles into sand “at the time i was in my twenties and had to fight the humans invading our lands. They threw poison bombs in the water suffocating every siren in the area, we had no way of knowing because the ocean was too dark to see the difference of the poison. Either way, every siren ended up dying but I managed to fight back”

Green eyes glanced toward the entrance of the cave, noticing how dark it was getting. If he stalled for a while longer, the humans would come in during the middle of their conversation. 

“From an ancient script I read a while back, I managed to break free of the siren's curse and grow a pair of legs. While they slept in the comforts of their cabins, I strangled each and every person until no humans were living on the ship”

Dream shuddered, looking at the malicious grin that met Technoblades eyes. Blood lust swarmed through blue orbs and it seemed to edge him on to his next kill. 

“Thank you, you really helped me remind myself how much I want to kill these worthless humans” Technoblade chuckled “Just for you. I’ll make sure their deaths are slow and painful”

“Does that mean you’ll let me watch?” Dream asked, hope flooding his body once more.

“Sure” The man smirked “why not”

The sun was setting among the horizon as green eyes met blue. A perfect chance was arising and the line between correct decisions and bad decisions was hazing over. The blonde siren saw the opportunities present but which path to choose was a different story. Even if his heart knew, his brain had not yet caught up. 

“They’re gonna be entering soon” Dream explained “what should I do”

Technoblade began to sit up, dusting off sand that stuck to his pants. In his hands was a small black stone, crystalized over with a bumpy surface. It seemed to be the source of his power, the way it glowed when human speech could be heard echoing through the cave. 

“Easy, just lay in the water without making any sounds” The man began to walk forward “I’d hate for our cover to be blown”

The malicious smile never left his face, leading the siren to believe that he would be more than excited to have their cover blown. He seemed to be wanting a challenge rather than humans rolling right into his trap. 

Like a winter breeze, Technoblade vanished into thin air, leaving only the chilling echoes of the cavern. The water that froze to the top of the cave was starting to defrost, small droplets hitting the waters surface. One gulp could be heard from a mile away as boots hitting sand met his ears.

Dream sunk back into the water carefully so only his head popped out. It was a little awkward with his blonde hair not being covered by seaweed, but it was the best he could do. The darkness covered most of the shiniest features of his hair making him look more like a rock rather than a spying siren. 

Green eyes narrowed as the group of humans began to march closer. George was taking the lead with a torch in hand while Wilbur and Tommy followed close behind. They both held swords and behind them, a raven haired man who was presumably Sapnap if he remembered correctly and a hooded man who he believed was Bad. 

“I swear I heard talking down here” Wilbur announced to the group “there were two voices and I doubt they got very far”

“We don’t have time for games” George pointed out “It doesn’t matter if others are here, we need to find the stone”

The group began to pass the siren who was carefully onlooking, shrugging through the water with a slow speed so he was just behind. It was enough to hear what they were saying, but he was mostly relying on the torch light to see where they were going. 

“Wouldn’t a stone be in the water” Sapnap insisted “shouldn't we look there first”

“Oh yeah! let’s go in the dark water with barely any light” Tommy cried “dumbass”

The raven haired man raised a brow “Well i don’t see any good ideas coming from the child”

“I am not a child!” Tommy defended, looking ready to start a unnecessary fight. 

“Guys, remember we’re working together” Bad pressed “also, language Tommy”

“If I have to spend one more minute here-” The blonde continued

“Shut the hell up Tommy” Wilbur groaned “Please just be quiet”

“Quiet” George declared, making silence fall over the group. Even Dream stopped in his tracks, causing a small wave to splash in front of him. His breath stuck to his throat as his eyes widened, realizing the trouble he just put himself into. 

The siren hissed once the torch was flashed onto him, using his arms to cover himself from the harsh light that surrounded him. His eyes were so adapted to the dark that even such a dim torch could cause damage to his pupils. 

“Fuck” The siren hissed, falling back into the water for some sort of cover. 

“You!” George bellowed, immediately making his way toward the water “I knew you had to be nearby!”

Dream chuckled nervously “I thought I already told you my name?”

Water sloshes as George entered the shallow river where the siren was, hands reaching out to try and grab it. Amusement flashed into the humans eyes, believing as if he had finally caught the prize he was looking for. 

“Get over here Dream” George called “you’re mine now”

Dream glanced over his shoulders, seeing the pink haired man sneak up behind the unexpected group. He moved fast, catching everyone off guard by hitting both Sapnap and Bad over the head with his fists. Both of them fell cold to the floor in an instant with Wilbur and Tommy barely able to do anything. 

While the siren was distracted he realized George was now towering over him. Trying to keep the blonde pinned to the sandy shore with his hands. It was a sad sight, but he let him continue. 

“You can’t escape” George chuckled, a happy grin blossoming his face “you should have kept running away”

Dream met him with a equal smile “You really shouldn’t try to fight a siren in his own environment”

A large green tail emerged from the water, it’s weight hitting into the human and sending him practically flying backwards into the water. The brunette man groaned as his body almost fully emerged into the river. 

“Shit” George groaned “What was that”

Before Dream could respond, shouting could be heard across the river. Bad and Sapnap were passed out on the floor along with Wilbur, who was barely keeping his eyes open. The yelling came from Tommy who had Technoblade in a sword to axe combat. 

“How dare you hurt Wilbur!” Tommy hissed “I’ll kick your ass right now!”

In a swift movement, Tommy was on the sandy floor and an axe on the hitch of his neck. His blue eyes were wide as the skin near his neck threatened to break. 

“Let’s not be rash here” Tommy advised while chuckling nervously “I’d hate for things to get out of hand”

“Shut it, human” Technoblade warned “or I’ll have you passed out with your buddies over there”

Tommy shut up, fearful eyes looking over to George, who could do nothing but watch as his friends were passed out. Technoblade had them all under his influence, with no room for struggle. The only thing they could do was surrender to the unknown. 

“Dream” George growled “I won’t forgive you for this”   
The siren gave him a guilty smile but remained silent. Actions spoke for themselves as brunette lifted himself from the river to stand before the pink haired man. 

“Well then” Technoblade concluded “let’s begin”    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully there isn't too many mistakes, it's like 4am and I'm editing this instead of doing anatomy homework :((  
> Anyway.. Thanks for reading !!   
> See you next chapter <3


	5. Dusk Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream decides to take a chance, falling into a belief that maybe humans aren't as awful as they seem.

George was carrying Sapnap further into the cave, while Tommy struggled to move with Wilbur wrapped around his shoulder. Technoblade, who followed behind, had Bad on his shoulder. Dream followed them on the river, narrowly missing the sharp rocks at the bottom. 

Although tensions were high, the siren couldn’t help but feel calm at the thought of no one dying yet. Some of the humans were passed out but they weren’t killed. Even if they would have a headache later, at least it was proof of them living. 

After a few moments of walking, they reached a clearing deep into the cavern. Inside was a very small lake with a sandy shore surrounding it. The water seemed to glow in the darkness, with a jelly like fluid sticking at the bottom. Dream didn’t take any chances and decided to not enter the lake. 

“Stop here” Technoblade firmly stated, dropping Bad with a little less decency than expected. 

The humans also dropped the others who they were carrying, George only slightly exhausted while Tommy was huffing breaths of relief. Now that they got this far, there was nothing that could prepare them for what would happen. 

The pink haired man circled to the unconscious humans “we’ll need them to wake up before we begin”

“Begin what” George cautiously asked, standing his guard in front of his friend. 

Technoblade didn’t respond, casually kicking at the unconscious human in front of him. Bad only grunted before shakily opening his eyes, his pupils not yet adapting to the sudden darkness. The torch that once hung a hopeful light flicked away a while ago. 

Dream played with the pink tone pebble in his hand, the voices that were so present a while ago now vanished. It was so quiet and he began to worry if what he was doing was right. He came here because they were nagging him but he had no idea what they wanted him to do. 

I wonder if this is what Wilbur was looking for, Dream thought in disdain, if that’s the case then maybe I could’ve prevented this. 

After a few minutes, Wilbur began to wake up. He held his head in pain, curling up on the ground with a groan. Following in suit, Sapnap was heard as well. Both seemed to be in a undeniable amount of stress.

“Finally” Technoblade sighed “I want you all to get in the lake”

George, with a glare narrowed at Dream, did as he was told and entered the lake. It reached up to his middle as he stood proudly, ready to accept whatever fate would reach him. To the siren, it was rather admirable to see someone stand up to a being much powerful than them. It almost made him want to rush in and stand by his side. With a begrudging sigh, he held himself back. 

Bad and Sapnap followed close behind George, sticking to their leader no matter the cost. Most humans were traitors, willing to run away to save themselves. It seemed those crewmates were different, more loyal than any human the siren has seen before. 

All that was left were Wilbur and Tommy. The human blonde had the older one wrapped in a tight hug, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. It didn’t make too much sense, because nothing yet happened, but was still very upsetting to the siren. Humans expressing emotions made him uncomfortable. 

“We’ll go next” Tommy insisted “just let me stay with my captain a while longer”

Wilbur coughed, trembling from the pain that was most likely coursing through his whole body now. Out of all of the humans, he did suffer from the harshest of blows. 

Technoblade glared at the duo before turning back to the lake “whatever, I’ll save you for later”

With that, he rose his hand up to the lake where the three humans were standing. In his hand was the dark pebble again, this time blue light glowing from the crevices of the rocky surface. The jelly under the water also began to glow a similar color as it the cave lit up. 

Dream noticed the pebble in his hand also began to glow a pale light. It began to burn in his hand as the voices started to shout loudly in his ear.

It’s him.

We need to kill him.

No more no more no more. 

In a state of sheer panic, the siren dropped the pebble onto the ground, too distracted to see the two humans fleeing past him out of the cave. He knew he should’ve stopped them, should’ve dropped the pebble and left Technoblade to follow the humans out, but he could only watch in panic at the blue light began to engulf the humans in the water.

“Dream” Technoblade called “chase after the humans”

Green eyes only stared in shock, as George and the others began to shout in pain. Their limbs were being further consumed by the jelly liquid and their cries were almost gruesome. He hated humans but he didn’t want this. 

“Dream!” Technoblade shouted, now with more urgency.

He didn’t chase them though, instead dropped down to hold the pink pebble that had stopped glowing. The voices were weak, but still held strong feelings.

_ Strike again. _

_ Cycle continued _

_ Never ends _

“Dammit” The pink man cursed, finishing whatever spell he was causing on the humans “I knew I shouldn’t have picked off so many”

With a final flick of his wrist, the once glowing jelly vanished, leaving the three bodies lying in the water. In a swift movement, the man ran out the cave to go chase down the duo who had escaped. While he passed the siren, he only hissed in disproval. 

“If you weren’t a siren” Technoblade threatened “I’d slit your throat”

Dream gulped, looking bad to see pink hair waving as he ran out from the cave. With a swift movement, the siren swam into the lake and noticing the damage that was actually done. 

The humans who laid there were unmoving. Their eyes were shut but mouths open as if they were attempted to breath. He knew that wouldn’t be possible, at least, not yet. Their bodies were cold as the siren took a finger to Georges neck, trailing down the humans body. 

“I’m sorry” Dream whispered “I have to fix this”

This wasn’t how things were supposed to go, it wasn’t how the mother wished for everything to happen. If she were here, she would be disgusted in him. She would take away all his abilities and let him drown into the ocean or cast him away into the deepest of trenches. 

Time seemed to still as Dream wrapped a careful hand around the tail floating to the surface. It was a light blue which reminded him of how the ocean looks when stared at from above. It was a comforting color what seemed so wrong to see on the once human. The legs that once grew from his body was now hidden by the narrow tail that barely twitched in his grip. 

Somehow, he needed to get them out of here. Away from Technoblade so they could escape but he had no idea how. The pink haired man was stronger than anything he’s faced before, he put sharks to shame. With the black stone as well, it seemed rather impossible to defeat him.

But, Dream thought, we only need to get away not beat him.

His mind began to work as he looked around. The cave was dark except the jelly matter that still glowed vibrantly at the bottom of the cave. Their best bet was to swim off before Technoblade got back, but honestly they were all very much unconscious and he would not be able to escape with all three of them in his grasp. 

He could also use one of the humans as bait while the others fled, and only have to fight over one human with Technoblade. Both options were a guaranteed failure, as long as everyone was unconscious. 

The sound of footsteps could be heard as reality set in painfully fast. They were slow and far away, so he had time. With a quick gulp of air that burned his throat, Dream took George by the scruff and began to bury him under the jelly. It was soft and a little suffocating, but as long as they would withstand it for a few minutes and blend it, there was a chance to escape. 

Bad and Sapnap were next, burying them under the jelly so they were visible. Burying himself was another harsh trail, but needed. He was able to keep everyone buried under the glowing substances in the nick of time, glancing up as he saw the dark figure of Technoblade stood above him. The man was glancing around fast, adrenaline probably filling his blood in a panic while he thought they escaped. 

While Dream though his plan had them a secure victory, George began to squirm next to him. Brown eyes flashed open and panic began to set in as he thrashed wildly next to him. 

Oh my gosh, Dream thought mortified, he’s gonna blow our cover. 

Quickly, the siren wrapped a hand around the once humans mouth, hugging him close to stop the water from making any movements. It took a few seconds but George eventually gave up under the strength, his body being too weak to perform any kind of protest. 

When Dream looked up again, the figure was gone. All that was left was the silence and occasional groans coming from the brunette. He realized rather quickly that he was probably suffocating the other and let go. 

“What the hell” George growled, brown eyes enraged as he pushed the blonde away “What is actually wrong with you?!”   
The former humans near them began to struggle to consciousness, distracting the two from their bickering. Brown eyes were wide as George stared at his friends. Although their faces were the same, it was if their appearance completed changed. 

“Nh” Bad carefully opened his eyes, learning from last time “what happened”

“Why have I got knocked unconscious twice now” Sapnap groaned, not even opening his eyes as he laid there. 

The situation hadn’t caught up with the humans, while Dream sat there and watched. He knew they had to start to escape soon, but for a while he could let them understand the situation they were in. 

“Technoblade turned you all into sirens” Dream explained “he is planning on killing you as well but Tommy and Wilbur gave enough of a distraction to allow me to hide you here”

“Why would we believe you” George growled, whipping off jelly from his head “and what the hell is with all this jelly, why is it sticky?”

Bad and Sapnap also began to lift themselves, shock hitting them as soon as they saw their finned fingers and tail.

Bads human legs were now replaced by a deep red tail. His scales were a rarity color and very beautiful. Most sirens who saw a tail like that would go crazy, immediately falling for him. Of course, Dream knew who the other was, providing an instant turn off. It seemed he was presenting as more of an omega based off his narrow tail that seemed weaker to his own. 

Sapnap on the other hand had a deep orange tail that replaced his legs. It was also an unusual color to present but nonetheless was also attractive. His large tail was almost the same size as his own, meaning he was most likely an alpha. 

George had a striking blue tail, which overall was common, but only for alphas. Omegas with blue tails were a novelty few witnessed, but it appeared Dream was now added to the list.

“Oh my goodness” Bad gasped “I’m a fish!”

“You’re a siren, not a fish” Dream grimaced, feeling slightly insulted “anyway we need to get out of here first”

“Yeah, let me just walk out” Sapnap sarcastically replied, crossing his arms awkwardly. 

“C’mon now, you know how to swim right?” Dream rolled his eyes “as long as we can swim out of here and escape from Technoblade, you won’t be dying today”

George huffed “why would we know how to swim”

The siren ran fingers through his hair in frustrating “Listen, I’m pretty sure the last thing you want is some creature killing you for your powers. I understand your confused and angry but this is not the time to be playing back and forth with someone whose trying to save you”

“Yeah you really saved us” George chuckled, eyes filled of betrayal “you just let us get turned into sirens in the first place, if Tommy and Wilbur didn’t escape I bet you wouldn’t have done anything”

Dream sucked in a breath, calming himself from the growing anger he felt inside. He could afford to be upset later, but not now. 

“Okay fine be angry” The siren eventually decided “but if you want any chance of living, then you follow me”

With that, Dream turned and began to swim out toward the river leaving the humans in a startled silence. He was hoping that the loose end would convince them enough to follow and was right when he turned around. Although with some distance, the humans were following him. 

Good, the siren thought bitterly, we escape to the ocean without Technoblade on our trail and then I never seem them again. 

The stone in his hand began to feel heavier, as his guilty feelings gnawed at his mind. Some part of him knew he had a responsibility to protect and watch over the humans. Even if he somewhat disliked them, he partially caused this. Much of the events could’ve been avoided if he kept moving and hadn’t stopped on the damned island. 

_ Save them _

_ Break the chain _

_ Start a new _

_Stupid voices,_ Dream groaned internally, _I will never listen to you again._

After carefully trailing through the river, he found himself back in the comfort of the oceans clearing. It’s vast size was comfortable and the warmth surrounding him as welcomed. He had almost forgotten the sweet scent of the water around him, although it there weren’t any fish around. 

“Damn, you live like this” Sapnap blurted out, the first to make it to the ocean. 

“Home sweet home” Dream bragged “most loveliest of places around”

“What’s lovely about it” George butted in “there’s nothing here”

The blonde siren scoffed “maybe there would be if humans kept away from our breeding grounds”

Brown eyes glared at him but he choose to ignore them, instead poked his head out from the water to stare on the surface. It appeared to be safe as no movement could be seen nearby. For the time being, they were in the clear. 

George popped out above the surface next “Hey, I wasn’t done-”

Silence hushed over as the human looked at the land surface. The water was sparkling under the stars, the coast empty now of any boats. The waves softly crashed into them as windy tickled their hair. Any hopes of leaving with their crew had vanished from the brunette's mind. 

“They’re gone,” George whispered.

Dream remained silent, taking in the mesmerizing view of the sea. It was a cruel reality the humans were facing, having to living like a siren despite all their lives learning to hate them. Even for the blonde siren, it would be difficult. 

“I’m sorry” was all he could say, there wasn’t any words of comfort he could offer that was helped. 

“This is your fault” George raged, turning to the blonde “If you hadn’t given us a goose chase and just let us capture you!”

“My fault?” Dream snarled “you humans are so selfish with needs, not even appreciating that I’ve saved your life”

“Why would I thank you? You just ruined my life, our lives, we may never become human again and have to live as such filthy creatures”

Green eyes narrowed, tightly grabbing on to weather shoulders “we are not filthy creatures, take that back”

“No” George answered “I don’t think I will”

Dream flashed his teeth, significantly sharper and longer than the humans, moving in so he was up close. His eyes held no companionship, only disgust and anger. Before he could even start up a empty threat, the stone that was still clenched in his hand began to vibrate slightly. A second later, voices began to swarm into his head.

_ Run _

_ Behind you _

_ He’s back _

The blonde siren glanced up just in time to see on the shore, a shadowy figure. His stance was chilling, as a blue light glowed from his fingers. A loud voice boomed through the ocean all the way to where they were. 

“You will not escape” The voice echoed “I will kill you”

Dream had barely any time to dodge the blue signal that flashed right by the side of his head. If he was one second late, he would’ve been dead. 

“We need to go” The siren cried “now!”

With that, the group fell back under the waters cover, swimming as far away as possible. They gained ground fast, making it through the current but something felt wrong. No matter how far they were getting it was as if they were moving at all. 

“What is this” Sapnap demanded “it’s like I’m sinking back to where we were”

“Maybe he’s using magic” Bad offered, using most of his strength to keep himself moving. 

“We can’t escape like this” George declared “Dream, do something”

Dream glared at the brunette “oh now you want me to save you? What is this?”

Despite his more than necessary aggressive attitude, he knew that he was the only one capable of helping them. They were weak to swimming, new to the sea, and had little amounts of siren abilities. On the other hand, he still had one more trick left. 

“When I tell you to swim as fast as you can” The siren announced “swim as far away as possible, but stick together”

The humans looked back at him, distrust present but still appearing willing to do whatever the blonde said. They knew it was their only chance of surviving. 

Dream played with the stone at his hand, praying to the mother of the sea that it had some sort of ability to save them. It didn’t have to be much, just provide an escape route. It had the potential to glow so why not have any power?

“Please mother” The siren called “save us”

Emerging from the water, Dream came face to face with Technoblade. He was standing on the waters surface now, arm high in the air with the stone vibrating the waves around them. It looked like a sink hole was about to form, sinking them closer to the pink haired creature. 

“Dream, you provided a fun chase” Technoblade chuckled “but this ends now”

“You can’t beat me” The blonde siren laughed “I would never lose to such an old creature”

The man had a challenging smirk on his face, the stone stopping the sinking momentarily. Instead it faced to him, seeming to get ready to shoot another blue light at him. 

“Say goodbye Dream”

Please, oh my goodness please work, mother please, The siren begged before sticking his own pink stone out to block the attack. 

A flash of light emitted from the stone, bouncing out to go against the blue light, sparks flying high in a small explosion. Grey smoke filled the area, giving enough cover for an escape. 

Dream sank back under the water, looking at the group of humanized sirens who had wide fearful eyes. He gave a reassuring smile “Swim”

The group began to speed, as fast as their tails could take them, away from the sandy shore. While they rode the current, it was easy to tell that they weren’t being followed anymore. The sinking feeling was gone and the ocean seemed more lighter. Only the sound of water whizzing by was heard by most of the group. 

Except Dream, who could hear the deep monotone voice seeping into his brain “You outsmarted me today, but I’ll find you again. Good luck for now”

A brief of relief escaped the blonde, as he followed the other sirens closely behind. It was weird that he felt sort of safe with the others, finally being able to take a breathe of fresh water into his system and focus on what lied ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wondering why I dislike my stories so much, and now I know why. It lacks humor. My problems are solved.


	6. Night Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sirens uncover the dangers of living in the large sea

They’ve been riding the current for hours now, going at a slow speed but enough to make sure nobody could track them. There was no smell of fish or bigger creatures nearby, ensuring it was a decaying zone. Based off the light spongy coral beneath where they swam, the reef was abandoned long ago. 

_I wonder if this is where Technoblade was_ , Dream thought, _it seems like a safe space for a siren community to grow._

“I’m exhausted” George groaned “we’ve been swimming for so long now, when are we going to stop”

The sun was casted overhead, the sea sparkling around them. Normally sirens would be sleeping during this time period but they had no luxury for rest. They needed to keep moving until they found food, then they could rest. 

“When we find fish we’ll stop” Dream announced, wincing at the sun hitting his back “we need a food source”

“There is nothing around here” Bad cried “we won’t find fish ever!”

Sapnap nodded “This place looks dead man”

Dream let out a frustrated sigh “If you want to stop swimming be my guest, but I’m continuing” 

When the siren turned around, he saw that the three humans were now stopped. They sunk down to the coral bottom and sat there, seeming to catch their breathes. It was a sad sight but an understandable one. They weren't used to swimming yet after all. 

Carefully, the blond sniffed the water trying to sense any form of food nearby. There was a very light scent of fish coming from the north but he doubt that he was the only predator out there smelling it. It would be suicidal to go out and find the fish, but he was willing to risk it.

“Fine, stay there, I’ll be back”

Turning tail, he swam toward the fish scent that filled his nose. It was closer than he thought, stuck between the coral rocks. It must have been trapped. The fish was a medium size, bigger than anything he has had in over a month. A lucky treat he was extremely thankful for

“Thank you mother” The siren whispered, quickly finishing the poor fish off, giving it the most merciful death he could manage. 

Blood began to fill around the water, if no creature smelt the fish now, they would have definitely smelt that. It’s presence would have filled any creature within miles. He hoped that any dangerous creature nearby would be too starving to actually reach him, although he knew that wasn’t likely. 

Grabbing his prey by the fin, he swam back to the group that was casually lying on the sponge. Bad had his eyes closed and was using the coral to stay balanced while Sapnap was picking off the dead barnacles sticking to the sponge. George was just staring off into the open sea before his brown eyes turned to meet the returning siren. 

“We eat quickly and then find shelter” Dream explained “the blood probably altered any predator in the area and i know none of you are fit enough to take on anything in these waters”

“Hey” Sapnap whined “you don’t have to be mean about it”

“How do we cook it” Bad complained “what If we get food poisoning”

Dream just rolled his eyes “I’m sure your body can handle raw fish, it’s not like it can bite back”

George grimace “I don’t know if I want to eat that”

“Fuck” The blond snapped “If you guys don’t stop complaining I’ll eat it myself”

There was a perfectly appetizing fish right in front of them yet somehow it wasn’t to their standards. They had no idea what it’s like to starve for a week straight, only caring if it’ll make them sick or not. There wasn't anything even wrong with the fish, it was perfectly intact except one or two fins. 

The humans were getting the hint that the blonde was annoyed and began to pick at the fish. Within minutes, all that remained were bones. 

“Where are we headed?” Bad asked, lying on the sea coral with his eyes closed. 

“Is there anyone who knows how to turn sirens into humans?” Sapnap added “there has to be someone who does”

Dream thought back to his mother and all the stories of sirens turning into humans. She would go on for hours and yet not a single idea popped into his head. The only thing that seemed close to what they might be looking for was the theory that love turned sirens into humans. It was a vague statement that made no sense. 

Then the siren thought of the night his village was destroyed, humans terrorizing the lake he was at. The fire that began to burn the waters surface and his mother holding him close until she wasn’t able to anymore. 

“There might be a way” Dream started “but we would need to go back to my old village to talk to the leader”

If anyone knew siren lore, it would be that man. He knew truths that could potentially save them. 

“How long would that take?” George grumbled “days or months?”

Dream looked at brown eyes in a dead stare “Years”

All color drained from the brunettes face before the siren broke out into a face splitting grin “Just kidding, I know where they are headed and It’ll take about a few days to reach”

George face heated up “This isn’t a joking matter”

“How do you know where they are?” Bad mumbled “do you have a tracker on them or something”

“No, but they journeyed to warmer waters just to escape from your lot. They had children with them so they couldn’t have traveled far, so if we just head west we should reach them”

Bad and Sapnap exchanged looks before the raven spoke up “how do you know where they are in this entire ocean”

The siren smirked “I know the ocean very well”

“Doesn’t make a lot of sense” George uttered from his spot on the coral “if you know the ocean very well why don’t you ever know where fish are?’

Dream frowned “anyway, I’ll keep watch and you guys can get some rest”

"Don't ignore me!"

“Thank you for helping us” Bad smiled “for a siren, your not that bad”

The siren didn’t know how he felt about that statement but just assumed the other was too stupid to know what he was talking about. 

“You’re welcome” Dream mumbled.

He watched Bad snuggle into the coral along with Sapnap as the two began to try their attempts at sleeping under the water. It was funny to see them curled so uncomfortably on the small sponge but didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he took a spot away from the humans and sat on the coral most close to the surface. The further up he was, the easier it would be to see the surrounding area. 

A few minutes into his surveillance, a blue siren made his way up next to him. He was silent but didn’t seem like he was gonna try anything. 

“You should sleep” Dream suggested “navigating without sleep can be difficult”

George glared at the other “Why are you helping us”

Green eyes looked down at the blue tailed siren. A siren who was once human. If anyone had told him years ago that he’d be sitting so close to a human, underwater, and not trying to kill eachother, he would’ve laughed in their face. Now that it was actually happening, he didn’t know how to feel.

“I didn’t want to help you” Dream replied “but it’s partially my fault for you all becoming sirens, therefore I should at least help you find a way to turn back”

“We tried to kill you though” George mentioned “aren’t you just gonna try and kill us now?”

“If I really wanted you dead, wouldn’t I have done it already?”

“You’re a strange siren” 

Dream huffed a laugh “and you’re a strange human”

George smirked before looking upward at the sun shining down. It’s rays crystalized the water and made everything feel warmer. It was like a protective boundary promising no pain or destruction as much dangerous creature were asleep. 

The silence that engulfed them was thick, but not impossible to break. They choose to ignore the tension and bath in the peaceful sunlight. 

By the time the sun was setting, Bad and Sapnap were stretching from a uncomfortable nap. 

“The coral is so sharp on my hips” Bad complained, rubbing his tail “why is my tail so slimy”

Dream chuckled “you’ll get used to it, don’t worry, let’s go”

Sapnap froze though, and was looking right past the blonde sirens shoulders. His eyes were wide as he pulled a shaky webbed finger up, pointing toward the empty ocean.

“Wh-what is that”

As Dream stopped to sniff the water, he realized the sharp presence of a shark, just behind him. Not one shark was in the area though, there were many. 

George sucked in a breath “Dream. What do we do”

“I don’t want to be shark food” Bad cried, remaining still next to Sapnap. 

_What do I do?_ The siren thought frantically, _What can I do?_

There weren’t many options when one is faced by a shark, the most likely choice was to run and try to escape through the coral. It would be a death sentence for at least one of the new sirens, there was no way they could out run a shark. 

_Where did it even come from?_

The pink stone in his hand reminded him of something, the strange power he was able to grab at when he was fighting Technoblade. It held a strong ability inside it, maybe enough to scare the shark off. 

“Please work” The siren pleaded before turning around.

The snout of the shark was opening up, it’s sharp teeth ragged and large. The smell of fresh blood came form it’s mouth, making it certain that they weren’t the first victim of the day. Although it’s mouth was wide ready for a feast, it was sadly mistaken. 

Dream stuck the stone out in front of the shark and watched as it glowed similarly to how it did with Technoblade. He could feel the strength being removed from himself as a small beam hit into the creatures eye. It a fit of panic, the shark closed it’s jaws just before hitting into the siren causing the two to stumble backward into the reef. 

“Dream!” George shouted, watching as the two fell.

“Swim” Dream croaked back, trying to push the momentarily blind shark away “swim now!”

Bad and Sapnap didn’t need to be told twice, giving eachother a nervous look before turning tail and dipping. Their orange and red tails flashed downward as they swam under the coral and away to a safer zone. George on the other hand hesitated, watching the siren wrestle with the shark. 

“George, go!” Dream shouted, trying to slip under the shark to escape. 

The blonde hit against a rock in a panicked moment, shoulder cut against the sharp edges. Blood began to pool from the wound and the shark immediately caught onto the smell. 

George was frozen, watching everything take place. It didn’t matter if the shark was blinded, if it could smell then it could chase. With Dream cornered, it’d be impossible to escape. The harsh metallic smell of blood hit the humans nose as rushes of adrenaline hit his spine. Siren blood smelt different under water and it was nauseating. 

The blue tail brushed against a stone on the ground before brown eyes noticed it. A sharp edged rock laid there on the coral. 

_Maybe_ , George thought, _If I could hit it just right._

Webbed fingers grabbed at the rock before taking a hawked eyed glare to the dark rough skinned fish, pushing his hand back in a throwing motion. 

Dream opened a pained eye to the shark in front of him, it’s teeth curling up and mouth viciously open. He quickly pulled himself up and began to swim upward, knowing full well that he was not gonna be fast enough to pass the shark. He was cornered and he knew a fin was gonna be snatched in the teeth of the creature. 

Yet when he looked up, no painful bite met a fin on his tail. When he looked back, the shark was again swimming in pain. It swam in circles, seemingly confused about which direction it should go in. 

Underneath it, laid a small sharp edged rock. 

“Let’s go” George yelled, grabbing the sirens hand and pulling it away “I don’t know how long it takes for sharks to recover”

Dreams couldn’t help but feel as if he was in a feverish dream. It was either the blood loss or the fact that he was so close to dying, but somehow he wanted to smile at their victory. With just a scratched up shoulder, he considered himself lucky. 

“I can’t believe you saved me” The blonde murmured, catching up in speed that had the brunette huffing next to him. 

“I didn’t want to help you” George gasped “but you’re our only way of turning back to normal”

Dream chuckled “I’ll take that as a compliment”

They managed to catch up to Sapnap and Bad who were still swimming as fast as they could. Their eyes flinched when they spotted the two sirens behind them. 

“You guys survived?!” Sapnap exclaimed with a bright smile “I for sure thought you guys were goners!”

“No little shark can scare me away” George bragged “I showed it who was boss”

Dream wheezed “Yea, George, you gave that shark a run, chased it around some too”

“I’m glad you muffins are safe” Bad giggled “where are we heading anyway”

“If we keep traveling this way with this speed, we should reach them in three days”

George groaned “That’s so long and this is so boring”

“How do sirens keep themselves company when traveling” Bad asked, playing with a broken off piece of coral he grabbed earlier “there’s no way you guys just swim in silence”

Dream thought back to the time he was floating on random currents in the sea before he met the leader of the village. How lonely it was with nobody around to talk to and how paranoid he felt. It was suffocating to remain silent with a whole ocean surrounding you. No matter how far away he was from humans he still felt as if he was being followed. 

The day the village leader found him, the old siren was just whistling to himself as if he had no care in the world. With careful and embracing hands, he welcomed him with a warm smile. There was no questions on where he came from or where his family was, just a understanding look that made everything okay. 

On the way back to the village, which would be his new home, the old siren kept humming songs. Naturally, he asked what he was humming but the old siren didn’t answer directly. He just told him he was humming the noises of the ocean. 

The ocean noises were once silence for the young siren but the more he grew up in the village, the noises of the sea were the most beautiful sounds around. 

“We don’t swim in silence” Dream explained “we don’t travel either but when we do, we sing”

He waited for the laughs, for the humans to not understand the siren culture. To him, it was impossible for any human to understand this type of stuff. 

“That’s so fun!” Bad expressed cheerfully “whenever the crew in on ship and were bored, we come up with tunes to sing aswell”

“I think I sing the best” Sapnap assured.

“Yeah maybe because you drink so much that you can’t tell the difference between good singing and bad” George pointed out with a smirk.

Sapnap glared at the blue tailed siren “Yeah, you and your voice cracks sing soo well”

George huffed “I do not get voice cracks”

“Keep telling yourself that George” Bad chuckled

Dream laughed at the bickering sirens “I never expected humans to be into singing”

“Well, I doubt we’re as good as sirens” Sapnap admitted with a chuckle.

Bad started singing first, some random sailors tune that the siren had never heard of before. His voice was high pitch and wavered slightly, but for a human it was a nice sound. 

_“ When my sailings days are over,  
And I sail the seas no more,  
I shall build myself a refuge,  
By the ocean’s murmuring shore ” _

“C’mon sing with me Sapnap” Bad cheered, grabbing onto the raven haired siren.

Sapnap rolled his eyes “Fine, fine”

Then the raven joined, a deeper contrast compared to the higher pitch. It was rough on the edges but didn’t make the blones ears want to bleed. He’d be a liar if he said it didn’t sound somewhat calming too. 

_“ As i watch the foaming breakers,  
When the tide comes rushing in  
I will contemplate my lifetime,  
With its virtue and its sins ” _

“It’s your turn Georgie” Sapnap grinned, wrapping a long arm around the brunette “let us hear it”

“Shut up, your such a idiot” George muttered.

Despite the reluctant hesitation, the brunette joined in the chorus of voices. His voice blended in between the two high and low pitches perfectly. It wasn’t anything special but had it’s own unique twist to the sound. 

_“ Where the azure of the heavens  
Meets the undulating blue,  
Where the sweeping, soaring seagull,  
Flies it’s ending quest for food ” _

“Dream?” George commented, noticing the blondes silence. His brown eyes were staring knives into his own, wondering why the other wasn’t singing. 

“I haven’t actually sang in a long time” Dream admitted with a slight blush “and I don’t know the words”

“That doesn’t matter” Bad began “just improvise”

Sapnap snickered “We don’t judge you too hard, even if you are a bad singing siren”

George pushed Sapnap off “I think any bad singing siren is better than your singing”

“Hey!” Sapnap sassed back “I’m just saying we wouldn’t judge”

Dream tried to suppress his laughter as the two began to start up arguing again. Somehow the humans always found something to start an argument about. 

“Okay Okay” Dream began with a grin “I’ll sing for a little bit”

The humans stared wide eyes at the siren expectantly. The most distracting were the brown eyes that seemed to glow orange in the sun setting water. It was a peaceful color that gave him enough confidence to let out his voice. 

_“Is it there I would rest  
When my work on earth is done,  
At the endless blue horizon,  
Neath the crimson setting sun ”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i haven't been posting lately :( been stressed with college and had finals, but that's over now so I will be posting more frequently <3


	7. Night Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream learns the meaning of how humans can change, and how some humans will betray.

A few days in their adventure they managed to become rather close. The warm ocean embrace was safe and comfortable enough for them. It didn’t judge, just allowed them to peacefully make their way through the waves The sound of waves and currents whooshing past them healed their minds. 

Between their small singing fests, they found amusement in sharing stories of their pasts. Whether from the land of the above or the deepest of seas. Each story was a special one to their heart and no creature was daring enough to downgrade the feeling. 

“How did you guys become friends” Dream casually asked deep in their adventure. 

“We’ve worked on the same boat for a while now” Bad admitted “although we didn’t always get along”

“Yeah, George used to be a huge stick in the mud!”

“Sapnap!” The brunette shouted “I was not!”

“Georgie used to tell on us to the sea captain whenever we took extra rations of bread” Bad sighed “we wouldn’t be fed for a week but then then the muffin head would sneak us food anyway!”

Dream chuckled “you got a weird sense of justice, huh?”

George looked away from the green eyes in disdain “They shouldn’t have been stealing in the first place but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be fed for it”

“We joined the crew around the same time, didn’t we?” Sapnap realized “we all cleaned the floor boards together”

“Who knew we would’ve become the top people on the ship” Bad bragged “we always got the utmost respect from the other crewmates”

“How did you guys even achieve that” Dream taunted “you were barely able to keep a siren in your clutches”

“Not our faults the siren has a 1000 IQ” Sapnap muttered “also we don’t really catch sirens, usually we go after larger creatures such as sharks and whales”

“You were the first siren we’ve caught” George admitted “just our luck it had to be the smartest one in the waters”

“Not smart enough if I did end up getting caught” Dream sighed. 

The blonde’s mind could still feel the dull ache in his shoulder. It was completely healed now but deep down, he knew the tracker was still embedded into his skin. Somewhere on the water was a ship, who knew exactly where he was. It sent a chill down his spine at the thought of him being discovered anytime and anywhere. 

“I’m sure our crew won’t attack us” Bad assured “we stuck by each other's side through thick and thin, they wouldn’t betray us”

George and Sapnap seemed to agree but Dream knew how they looked. Their bright colored tails gave themselves away so easily and they didn’t even realize. He saw them as beautiful additions but humans would see them as treasure and wealth. There was no doubt in his mind that those humans would swoop them up and kill them without a second thought. 

“Do you really trust them” Dream mumbled, trying to find some sort of falter in the other's eyes. 

Sapnap was the first to speak up “I trust them as much as they trust us”

 _Do you even know how much they trust you,_ Dream thought to himself, _can you confidently say they wouldn’t kill you?_

Bad noticed the blonde's grim expression and offered him a smile “are you excited to see your village again?”

Dream looked up at the red tailed creature but couldn’t find it in himself to smile “I’m more nervous than excited”

“How come” George wondered next to the blonde. 

The siren groaned, thinking of the poor little sirens that were probably curled up sleeping right now. He shouldn’t even be going back to the village with the ship still having his location. Yet, he needed to turn these guys back human and then their pursuit would be over. 

_Maybe, just maybe_ , Dream thought, _if they can convince the other crewmates not to hunt sirens, then my village will be safe for good._

“Hey Dream, what is that?” Bad called from behind him, pulling the blonde from his trance. Green eyes looked upward to see a dark shadowy figure. It’s ripples through the water were so familiar yet distant, it had felt like it’d been years since he last saw the object. 

“That” Dream replied with a strained voice “is your crewmates”

George frowned as he looked upward. It should’ve been an exciting moment for them, to finally meet the crew again yet somehow they didn’t seem as confident as before. Their hopefully smiles depleted as the boat's anchor began to set in front of them. 

As the ship rocked back and forth, nets could be seen dropping all around them. One almost managed to get ahold of bad but Dream managed to pull the other away just in time. As more nets fell, the more trapped they became. 

“Why are they putting traps in the water” Bad cried in Dreams arms “I thought they were looking for us”

“They should be looking for us,” George agreed, narrowing his eyes toward the shadow “but they’re not”

“Maybe they think we’re dead” Sapnap offered “if we just talk to them we can resolve everything”

Dream glanced toward the boat in disdain, but gave Sapnap the better of the doubt “Alright, we’ll go to the surface and try to talk to them”

The team of sirens made their way to the oceans ripples layer, breaking through the water and into the air. It was a tough transition for the new sirens but they managed to power house through it. Dream watched in bitter amusement at the sight.

“Siren!” One crewmate called above deck “surrender now!”

More crewmates flocked over at the call, staring above head with sticks of pointed edges and nets that could burn through a siren's scale. There were also bombs that only the humans knew what were contained inside, but the blonde assumed that it would be very dangerous. 

“Wait!” Sapnap shouted above the crashed waves “it’s me! Sapnap!”

The few crewmates looked at him as if he had two heads. Their eyes were wide as they took the sight in before them, unsure if they really knew what they were seeing. They looked at each other as if making sure they weren't all hallucinating before turning back to the sight. Sapnap gave them a large grin as if signaling who he actually was. The only problem was, they weren’t exactly smiling back.

“George and Bad are also down here” Sapnap began with a smile “we managed to survive but a creature turned us into sirens”

Said sirens emerged from the water shortly after, their faces full of nervousness of what was to come. They stood their ground though, staring up the humans they used to know so well. 

“How do we know you’re not just using your powers to look like our friends” One crewmate yelled over the sea “If a siren had the ability to turn you into that sort of creature, they would also have the ability to steal your identity”

Dream remained quiet, watching the events unfold. If he did speak, it would only hurt their chances of becoming friendly with the crewmates. But it was becoming more difficult to hold his tongue as he saw the frustrating build up in George's face. 

“We’re not lying” The brunette called angrily “If I weren’t George, would I know that I’ve been on this ship since 18XX, would I know that we used to skip over mop duty sometimes to buy exotic fruits from places we’ve visited, and would I know that we used to sing folk songs by the harbors during sunset?”

A more confident look appeared on George's face as he recalled the past memories of his crew. His bold brown orbs held a look that only a leader could possess and some part of Dream craved that look to be directed toward him. 

“The George we knew long ago is gone now” One crewmate called with a grim expression.

Out of the corner of Dreams eye, he saw movement. When he glanced to the left he could see one of the crewmates with a pontified spear, aiming right toward where Georges head was. The man seemed to be on point because as the blonde moved to cover the brunette, he felt a sharp piercing right into his back. 

“Fuck” Dream sobbed into the brunettes neck, feeling blistering pain boil all around his body. His skin was feeling torn as the blade cut deeply into the side of his shoulder. Luckily, it didn’t penetrate much, but if he got hit once more he would be a goner. 

“Dream!” Bad and Sapnap called over the demanding shouts of the crewmates. The blonde didn’t have enough energy to talk as he could feel his body becoming numb, relying on the brunette's stable arms to keep him afloat.

“We need to get out of here” George hurriedly whispered, giving a pained glance toward his old crew “these guys aren’t the humans we once knew”  
With careful arms, George sunk the two under water and began to speed off into the directly he could only assume was where the blondes tribe was. The way the water became warmer under his scales as they moved in a certain direction practically told him that this was the way the ocean wanted them to go. It was a strange feeling, almost as if he was communicating to the sea through his body. 

As brown eyes glanced toward the weakly blonde, he couldn’t help but feel guilty as the sight. Even though Dream insisted that this was a bad idea and they would be betrayed, he really wanted to believe it wouldn’t happen. Some part of him knew it would but he stuck to the false hope that they could work things out. _The one flaw about having human emotions._

The ship was fast on their tracks, especially when they couldn’t make much speed with the most fast siren unconscious on the slowest sirens back. Sapnap and Bad tried to call out when arrows flew through the water and when one crewmate tried to throw a bomb. Somehow they managed to excel at dodging the deadly weapons and kept on their journey. 

“Dream” George called next to the siren's ear “what should we do?”

The blonde whimpered, barely able to move without flinching every so often. His eyes were peeled shut as his strong arm was wrapped around the others neck. Thank goodness for the sea holding up most of the weight, or he wouldn’t be able to carry the other.   
“Dream, we need you please” George insisted, trying to somehow will the other siren awake. It wasn’t very helpful but somehow green eyes fluttered open. 

“They have the tracker” Dream huffed “get the tracker from them and they won’t chase us”

Bad looked toward the ship as more arrows flew down at them. They all missed luckily but it gave the red tailed siren an idea. Not a smart one, but one that could work. 

“We have to disable the tracker on Dream” Bad insisted “If I get one of the arrows I can cut it out of him”

Dream struggled as he looked at bad “are you insane? I can’t-”

The aqua eyes that looked at him were confident and held little restraint. It was almost as if he was saying to trust him, he knew what he was doing. 

“Bad, weren't you learning to become a doctor on the ship?” Sapnap asked, watching as another arrow sped past him.

“I was” Bad chuckled nervously “I’ve seen a few surgeries before and I’m confident the chip isn’t deep enough to where i can’t reach”

George sighed before glancing around for some sort of deep cave. After a few seconds he managed to spot one and immediately dove down under to the safety of it’s shield. 

The cavern area was a cramped space. It could hold all four of them easily but it wasn’t ideal for performing such a surgery. Being underwater, it could also become more messy. As Sapnap got an arrow from below and George held Dream up to his chest keeping the siren still, Bad had his best hopes of grinding the tracker out of the others body. 

The first cut into the skin had Dream seething, as he sunk further into the brunette chest. His eyes were becoming more red as he bit his lip, trying to not shriek out as more cutting was carefully ensued into his skin. 

“Please Dream, stay still” George begged to the other, holding him tight “I promise bad is working as fast as possible”

Bad looked up for a second to make sure the blonde siren was holding on okay. Despite how painful it must’ve been, Dream managed to remain still as small whines escaped his lips. His claws held onto George tightly, although not enough to break any skin. 

The blade finally hit the metal piece and Bad was able to withdraw it from the skin. The chip was tiny but because of that, the wound wasn’t open to the point where it wouldn’t heal with time. As long as there was no strain, recovery would be likely. 

“Are you okay, Dream” Bad asked, noticing how violently the siren was shaking. His skin was becoming more pale as the blood surrounding them became thick. 

“I’m okay” Dream shakily replied “just lost too much blood”

Brown eyes looked over the wound on the siren's back. It was a reminder of the bullet that Dream managed to take for him, twice now. One bullet was taken when he saved him from drowning and ended up getting hit by the target gun, and again when he let himself get hit by the spear. 

“Thank you for saving me” George mumbled, trying his best to hold the siren still so he wouldn’t open wounds by shaking around “I owe you again, now”

Dream gave the brunette a shy smile “don’t forget it this time”

The water was quiet and tense, as the thought of the crewmates rustling above kept everyone on their feet. They couldn’t escape just yet because Dream was way too weak but they couldn’t stay still either. 

“Maybe one of us should distract the crew” George suggested “we can lead them in the wrong direction for a few miles, leave the tracker in a random spot, and they won’t be on our trail anymore”

“It’s very risky” Sapnap warned “I don’t know if any of us can even outrun our ship”

They all knew Dream was the only one capable of such trickery and he was out of commission. Their best bet was to wait the humans out... 

“Wait, I have an idea” Bad spoke, a sudden glint in his eyes “We wait til the humans let down their guard, escape, leave the tracker behind, we sneak undercover and then we won’t be caught”

“What do you mean by undercover” Sapnap wondered, picking at the muddish sand on the floor “there's nothing here to work with”

Bad closed his eyes in deep thought “There really isn’t much to hide us here, huh”

“Use the sea grass to hide your face and cover your body with the mud” Dream choked out, eyes barely able to concentrate on the walls surrounding him “humans will easily mistake you for some sand on the ground... especially if they aren’t expecting it”

“How sure are you that this will work?” George asked, noticing how pale the siren's face was becoming, “is it even safe to move you?”

Dream grinned “don’t worry, I’m sure we can do it”

The once humans glanced around each other, trying to figure out when exactly they started trusting the words of a siren. It’d be easy to disbelieve the creature but somehow they had complete faith in the other. It was like he was their beacon of light, as long as he was alive they could guarantee they also would also stay alive. 

“We trust you Dream” Bad smiled, looking at Sapnap who shared a similar look. 

George looked more unsure of the answer, seemingly more disturb with the idea of pushing Dream too far rather than the plan itself. He cradled the siren close looking almost unwilling to part. As the water kept getting colder, they knew their time to leave the cave was approaching. With a few breaths of preparation, they started their plans of escaping. 

The sirens covered themselves in the sand, using the sea grass to cover the sights of their tails and hair. It was an excessive process, especially with an injured blonde, but they managed to successfully cover up all traces of colorful features. 

As soon as Dream had the final piece of sea grass sticking from his head, Bad dropped the tracker in the middle of the cave. Giving it a final squeeze, he let go and watched it float until it hit the rocks. 

“Okay, let’s go,” Bad said, glaring at the piece of metal covered in some skin. 

George gripped Dream's shoulders, carrying most of his weight, as the two emerged from the cave entrance and made a speedy escape to the blind spot of the ship. The humans, even if they did notice the strange movement under the sea, wouldn’t be able to catch on to their escape. 

The sea floor seemed to dust itself upward carrying a blended illusion. 

They made it over the sandy hills and into the vast unknown, away from the humans, and towards a new goal. 

While they swam in silence, eyes couldn’t help but glance toward the pale siren. His fins barely moved and seemed to have difficulty breathing. 

“Should we take a break?” Bad asked, lifting up to the others side “we’re far away enough”

The blonde siren weakly looked up at the chestnut haired man, a look of pure exhaustion and defeat. A look wondering if he even wanted to continue on anymore. 

“No” Dream insisted, eyes hardening as he looked into the deep unknown “we’re so close to the village, we need to make it there”

“They aren’t going anywhere” Sapnap reminded him “one small break won’t hurt-”

“I don’t care, It’s like I can practically _smell_ them!”

Dream said this, but deep down he knew they had much ground left to cover. They would still have to do a day full of traveling before they would reach the area. The only smell he found near him was the stale blood that was swarming around him. 

If they did keep going, pushing the blonde to his limits, he would lose all energy. Unable to heal or rest, he’d be a dead fish in water. 

George stopped in his tracks causing everyone to halt. His brown eyes bored into the ground, facial expression stiff as they stilled. He grabbed Dream by the shoulders and sunk him to the soft sandy ground, resting him on his good side. 

“We’ll continue tomorrow, after we rest” George reluctantly answered “it’s cold, my fins hurt, and I’m hungry. We aren’t moving a single space until we’re recovered”

Green eyes glared at the brunette, trying to sit up and fight back “You’re being stupid, we need-”

“No Dream” George snapped, pushing the other back down with as much force as the blonde could take “You said it yourself, you need sleep to navigate through these waters and as you're the only one who can do so-”

The blue siren lifted the blonde head up to it was relaxing in his lap. It was surprising for everyone, such an intimate act by enemies. 

“You need to rest, so shut your eyes and go to sleep, you idiot fish”

Dream went silent before chuckling a bit, his mood lighting up as he shut his eyes. Although the throbbing pain in his shoulder was hell, the feeling of long fingers brushing themselves through his hair was comforting. 

It sort of felt like his mothers touch. When they lived in their old village. Nights where there were thunderstorms or cold weather, they would often snuggle in the same nest while she sang a melody. Her voice was always so soothing and was able to knock him out easily. 

She would sing songs of life above while petting his head, insisting life is so beautiful outside the sea. How she wanted to go but never to leave. Although her beats were always peppy, there was a hidden sadness even the young siren could detect.

While his mind went elsewhere, he fell into an unconscious state. His grip weakened as he let sleep overcome him. Out of his hands, dropped the pink pale stone, only noticed by the brunette who held him close. 

With a curt glance, the stone was swept under a fin to hide among the other sirens. No words were spoken as the brunette mind held a new secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dream keeps getting hurt rip 


	8. Night Part Three

After a few hours of traveling, they finally made it to the warm coral reef. Colorful fish everywhere and comfortable temperature greeted them, it was practically heaven to the traveling sirens. 

Dream had managed to rest a few hours without worry. The tracker had no association with them anymore and they were in the clear. The wound was also healing up very nicely, which the blonde stated that it was due to being in the sea. 

“Sirens who are injured within the ocean are easily treated by her” He had explained, eyes brighter when he woke up from his slumber. 

The humans didn’t believe him so much but were very shocked that the deep wound was starting to patch up nicely. With harsh movements though, it would be likely that the wound would open again. They didn’t tell Dream this. 

“This place is very beautiful” Bad noted, taking a look around the calmer area “I would love to live here if I was a siren”

“You are a siren” Sapnap smirked, causing the chestnut haired siren to flare up.

“Ugh Sapnap, you know what I meant you muffin” Bad bit back, swimming closer to George “how much longer do we have to travel for, my fins keep cramping!”

Dream rolled his eyes “Don’t worry Bad, we’re very close”

As the blonde said that, a clearing came to view, warm dimmed lights exposing sirens swimming around peacefully. Sirens who looked so familiar to him. 

“Is this the place?” George asked, noticing where green eyes traveled “It looks peaceful”

“I wanna say Hi” Bad giggled “they’re probably friendly”

Dream watched on in awe, eyes wide as he saw everyone he missed. They looked healthy and peaceful, with enough fish to feed them for years. The perfect environment a siren could ask for, to raise their young in. 

“Dream?” Sapnap called, gently nudging the blonde “you okay?”

When Dream realized his mouth was agape, he shut it and licked his lips “Yeah.. Just a little overwhelmed”

In reality, the siren was feeling nervous. It had been a while since he'd seen his village. In fact, he didn’t even think he would ever see them again. It should’ve been a final goodbye but now, he was able to swim in and say hello. 

He didn’t understand why his eyes were feeling itchy but he rubbed the feeling away, giving a bright smile to the others “Let’s go!”

The four sirens swam up the group relaxing in the clearing. They seemed to have no care in the world as little sirens wrestled on the soft sand. Some adults were making nests into the rocks nearby but none of them paid attention to the new comers. 

The first siren that noticed them was a lot younger, green tail vibrant, grinning as he noticed the blonde making his way toward him “Dream, you’re back!”

His fluffy brain hair was a mess as he swam over, giving the blonde a tight hug “My friend, I missed you!”

Dream chuckled a bit, giving the brown haired siren a hug back “Glad to see you safe and well, Tubbo”

“Why are you back, Dream” Tubbo wondered, pulling away “didn’t you have humans tracking you?”

Worry laced Tubbo's voice, not even noticing the extra sirens presence “did they use their weird human nets to capture you? Or did they use their weird human legs and-”

Dream barked out a laugh, interrupting the brunette “Tubbo calm down, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m too quick for humans they couldn’t even keep track of me”

A small snicker could be heard from George, but Dream chose to ignore it “Anyway, I need to speak to the tribe leader. Can you bring me to him?”

“Sure!” Tubbo chirped, tilting his head to give the other intruders a glance “by the way, who are the new friends with you?”

Dream took a look at the previous humans, now swimming next to him as if it was the easiest thing in the world. They still smelt of humans but his own siren smell masked it enough where they could fool the other sirens. Especially when they entered the tribe, they could keep a clear cover. 

“They’re sirens who lost their homes to humans” Dream lied, wrapped a arm around George before wincing “they helped me escape humans so I owe them”

Guilt began to appear on the older human's face as he faked a smile “sure did..”

Tubbo innocently tilted his head before grinning “Thanks for bringing Dream home then, we really missed him!”

Sapnap and Bad exchanged a saddening look before following behind the sirens quietly. 

They journeyed through the rockier areas, passing groups of colorful greens, greys, and yellows. Some sirens said hello while others gave looks of surprise. Either way, everyone appeared to be cheerful for Dream returning. 

“You came back just in time” Tubbo admitted, motioning toward the sea lanterns that glowed in the dim ocean “we’re having a festival this week to acknowledge our new land”

“It appears to be sustainable” Dream noticed, seeing blue fishes swim above “a festival would be perfect for this time of year”

“This time of year?” Sapnap questioned. 

“Yeah, older sirens falling in love” Tubbo drawled, gagging a bit “too gross. I don’t wanna even talk about it”

Dream chuckled, noticing the uncomfortableness flaring up in the humans “Anyway, everyone seems to be adapting well to the new area”

Nests were being supported by rocks, little sirens were swimming around without a care in the world, and no siren was hiding their fins. It was a complete turnaround compared to the scary lifestyle they lived in before. The move seemed to help them thrive. 

Even though Dream felt like nothing really went his way since he left the tribe, he was glad so many good things were happening to them. The tribe deserved to live their best life. 

They swam in comfortable silence for a little while longer, the only conversation really between Bad and Tubbo on details of the festival. The younger siren was excited to blab on about all the types of food, games, and music they’d have. 

Someone nudged Dream, causing him to take his eyes off the sirens swimming ahead and instead focus on brown eyes. 

“Is he your brother?” George asked, seemingly embarrassed to ask such a question. 

Dream chuckled “Not biologically, but I could see him as a little brother”

“I see…” The brunette mumbled, staring off for a moment “they really care about you”

It was true. The village was his family and as much as they cared for him, he cared for them. No matter how long time separated them, sirens' bonds never faded. They were loyal for life. 

“Yeah” Dream grinned swimming further to catch up, offering George a helping hand “guess you can say I’m a lucky siren”

George took one look at the still injured areas on the blonde before rolling his eyes and jokingly taking his hand “If you say so”

They made it to a larger nest inside of a cliff. It was massive, holding many other nests as well but the one that stood out the most was where a lanky older siren laid. His hairs were greying but he still had a smile on his face. 

Dream quickly turned to Tubbo, scratching his neck nervously “We need to talk to the village leader in private, I don’t want to make you leave or anything, but-”

“Don’t worry about it big fish, I understand” Tubbo exclaimed with a grin “I have to go help everyone else anyway, we’ll catch up later”

Dream nodded in relief. It only eased his anxiety slightly but he couldn’t complain too much. They were safe and therefore he had no reason to worry, right? Now they had to face the big siren in charge. 

While Tubbo swam off, Dream began to warn the others. 

“Treat village leader with utmost respect” The blonde ushered quickly, the easy look from before vanishing “he’s protected these sirens for many years and I don’t know how he’ll react about all this”

The trio exchanged looks before Sapnap spoke up. 

“We won’t disrespect the siren leader” The raven assured “we promise”

“Sapnap is the only one who would slip up” George muttered, lightly pushing the younger “I’ll make sure he behaves”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean Georgie”

Dream rolled his eyes before swimming up to the nest with a grin. These humans weren’t the smartest things in the world but they were a lot funnier than he originally thought. 

“Village leader” Dream called out, noting how long it took for the elder siren to see him “I’ve returned”

The village leaders hazel eyes popped from his socket, eyebrows raised in excitement “Dream! My boy, you’re back”

Dream rushed the older man in a tight hug, the familiar scent of coral easily detected in his hairs. It had been a while and he was so glad the man didn’t hit the bucket when he was gone. 

“Yeah, I’m finally back” Dream sighed happily, taking in the moment for as long as he could. 

After a few moments, the moment was broken by the village leader coughing a bit. Dream pulled off and remembered about the “siren” friends he brought along. They stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say. 

“I’ve never seen these sirens before,” the Village leader noted, suspicion clear in his hazy eyes “made new friends on your travels?”

Dream glanced at them before beckoning them in further “Not exactly, these were the humans who were hunting me down”

All sense of trust and willingness to follow the blonde quickly disappeared from the humans as they glanced nervously around, wondering if it was safer to escape or accept defeat. Worry was clear in their eyes as they scratched at their arms. It almost made the blonde want to chuckle. 

“Oh” the Village leader said, tone uncertain “you appear to be very fond of them though”

The grey haired siren always could read other sirens, even if they were once human. He knew when sirens felt hostility or care for another. He never judged and never ran another siren away. He was accepting and the blonde knew that for a fact. 

“They’re not too bad” Dream admitted with a smug smirk “I didn’t come here to show them off though, weird pink haired siren named Technoblade turned these guys sirens”

“Oh Technoblade, that’s a familiar name” the Village Leader mused happily “more of a quiet fella when I met him, though he seems nice”

“Yeah, a nice fella alright…” Sapnap muttered from behind, getting a light hit to the shoulder from an annoyed brunette. 

“Do you know any details on how he did it” Dream asked “or how we can change them back?”

Silence was tense in the area before the Village leader sighed “I’m guessing he used a web curse. I learned about it a long time ago, but I remember very little”

“Do you think you can try to remember?” Bad begged, earning a sharp glare from green eyes. 

“We understand” Dream said, turning away from the red tailed siren “any information that you can give us would be appreciated” 

The Village leader grinned “Of course, after the festival tonight we can talk about it more. For now though, you humans should enjoy siren culture while you can”

“Why would we do that” George said, choosing to ignore the angry glares following “it seems strange for humans to _partake_ in something meant for sirens”

A hefty laugh came from the Village leader before Dream could scold the brunette “Don’t worry about it, Siren culture is an amazing thing and we’d be glad to have you witness it”

George smiled a bit, “If you insist” 

“Anyway, you can go out and explore” The grey haired siren began “Have you met Tubbo yet? He’s been the one mostly taking care of it all. You should speak with him”

The trio nodded, turning to leave. This included Dream before he was stopped by a hand on his wrist. 

“Dream, are you gonna come with us” Sapnap asked, holding up for his friend “or are we gonna explore all this without you”

The blonde chuckled for a second, looking at old hazel eyes “I’ll catch up in a bit, go without me”

Sapnap just shrugged before swimming off, Bad following close behind. George lingered for a little longer, staring in concern. 

Dream tried to offer a smile but the brunette just turned away and followed the others. His blue tail fluttered in the light a while longer until disappearing over the hills. 

When he finally ripped his green eyes off the horizon, he turned back to the elder man, who sat patiently waiting. His eyes held no rush or urgency, just signs of adoration. 

“I’m glad you’re back healthy” the Village leader said, glancing at the scars tracing the blondes body “It looks like it was rough out there”

Dream wanted to groan. He wanted to complain about all the messed up stuff he had to deal with, the scary encounters from sharks to mystic sirens to humans, and how many times he was injured. It was difficult to control but he held his tongue. 

“I’m strong enough to deal with it” The blonde boasted, confidence riled on his fins “I got stories that can put fear into any siren here” 

The Village leader laughed heartily “I believe you, you did the village a huge favor with your sacrifice”

 _Sacrifice_. 

Dream bit his lip nervously, looking down at his scratched up palms. He really didn’t think he’d make it back here alive. Just a few days ago, he thought he was dead meat. Every encounter before that was life threatening as well. It was like a ticking time bomb getting ready to tell him his life was over. 

His webbed fingers began to shake as the realization hit him. He almost died, so many times. Now, he was gonna be leaving again soon to help some humans. Leaving his family behind once again and for what? Was it even worth helping them? If he left again, would be coming back alive?

“Have you thought about having kids” the Village leader asked lightly, not pressuring for an answer just a distraction “lots of sirens will be looking for mates during this time”

Dream chuckled, imaging himself as a father. It would be so weird, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted it. 

“Kids would be such a bother right now” Dream admitted, grinning at the thought of a crazy blonde siren with a blue tail “but if I live long enough, maybe it wouldn’t be impossible”

“Do you have anyone you’re thinking of?” The hazel eyed siren asked innocently “the blue tailed siren earlier seemed to have a liking to you”

A harsh laugh escaped Dream before he could suppress it “George? That’s impossible, he’s stiffer than a board, there’s no way he likes me”

A soft hum came from the older siren “What about you then, do you have a liking towards him?”

Light pink dust fell on the blonde’s freckled cheeks as he thought of the brunette. Sure, he was human and it could never work out, but that didn’t stop his fascination with him. Since they first met, there was some sort of fire there that refused to burn out, no matter how many times they argued or bickered. When he was injured, brown eyes would stare at him in concern and when he was being comforted, the long slender fingers in his hair felt so nice. 

George never abandoned him since they’ve been together either. When it came to the shark attack or when Bad removed the tracker, he was there. Maybe he wasn’t as _stiff_ as Dream was projecting. 

“You’ve gone a little silent” the Village leader noted with a grin “perhaps I was right?”

Dream blushed more “He’s just helped me out a lot, so I have a strong appreciation for him”

The blonde said this but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He wasn’t an innocent siren, sometimes when the brunette was swimming next to him he’d stare at his body a little longer than usual. When they would talk during night time, he would look into brown eyes without blinking, savoring the way they sparkled under moonlight. Even when George insisted he didn’t want anyone touching him, sometimes he’d poke at his tail just to watch the other shiver uncomfortably because he knew how sensitive it was. That was private information though. 

The Village leader smile softened “You know, It’s not uncommon for sirens to like humans. If you like him, you should go for it”

The old siren was right. Dream knew that their time would be short, as a siren and human could never work out, but if he had to choose anyone to pick as a mate. It would be-

“Thanks Village leader” Dream grinned, floating up to leave “but it’d never work out”

The silence was nagging. Ripping through the area in sparks of anxiety the blonde was feeling. There was no time for love or living happily, he had too many goals before it. He of all sirens didn’t deserve a peaceful life. 

The elder didn’t try to convince the blonde to follow another path. After all, it wasn’t his life and he had no other part than to try to guide the younger in a better direction. 

“If that’s how you feel” The Village leader said, a sad smile on his face “as long as you’re happy”

Dream paused.

 _Was he happy?_ This whole journey away from home with these humans, he got to spend a lot of time with them and hear their stories. Life of land, being close loyal friends. There was no responsibility of protecting a tribe and they could live for themselves.

It was selfish but a small part of him, for the first time ever, wanted to be born a human. 

He wanted to be happy. 

Dream left the area feeling more enlightened than when he entered. New thoughts swarmed his head that he wouldn’t dare think of before. Most of all, he kept getting a lingering feeling of wanting to see George...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, finally a chapter where Dream isn't physically hurt


	9. Night Part Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Festival

“Dream will be fine, George” Sapnap sighed, getting sick of the moppy look on the brunettes face “we’ll meet with him later”

“Just shut up Sapnap” George grumbled, glancing around at all the sirens staring at them. Their eyes were different, slits that bore right into their souls. Unblinking. Unmoving. It made him feel like prey stranded in the sea. 

“What even are we supposed to do” The brunette huffed, finally ripping his eyes away “just sit around here”

They were in a wider clearing among many other sirens. The sun was long gone now and little sea lanterns on the ground were flaring up. It made a light blue sparkle on the sandy floor, pale jellyfish easily visible, casually floating around. The ground was soft against his scales but for some reason he felt restless under the pressure of everything. 

George didn’t want to be stuck around waiting, every second Dream wasn’t near him he felt like he was gonna be attacked. He didn’t exactly have a strong trust for other sirens around him, nor a calm mind to relax himself. 

A random siren with a purple tail and chestnut hair came and swam next to Sapnap, bright eyes staring down at him “I haven’t seen you guys before”

He seemed like a sweet siren, green flowers in his hair with emerald eyes to match. 

“We’re new here” Sapnap admitted, refusing to look into the others eyes “but we aren’t staying long, don’t worry”

The green eyed siren was quiet for a moment, sitting in front of the trio “You have an amazing tail, it’s such a warm orange”

Sapnap made an annoyed look, flipping his tail away from the other siren. “Thanks” He replied flatly, not missing the awkwardness in the other's eyes. 

“No need to be sensitive buddy” The purple siren chuckled, moving back to offer more space “there’s no reason to be aggressive”

“I’m not aggressive” Sapnap hissed, surprised by his own tone. 

Silence filled the area, some other sirens beginning to look on at the noise. Happy energy dying down as whispers arose around them. Even George glanced up from his staring, concern lacing his features.

“Anyway” The siren mumbled, rolling his eyes to look somewhere else “you guys should come swim around with me, it’s no fun sitting around here all lonely”

Bad seemed to straighten up at the offer while George only huffed lightly, crawling into his own space. Neither of them answered though, waiting on Sapnap to make the final choice. 

“We don’t know who you are, why would we go with you”

“True True,” The chestnut siren agreed, nodding his head in mock enthusiasm “But wouldn’t it be more fun?”

“No” George sighed lazily, missing the offended look. 

“I think it’d be kind of fun” Bad chirped, nudging the brunettes shoulder “c’mon, it’ll get you to stop thinking about whatever Dreams doing”

George glared lightly “It’s been hours now, we should’ve just waited for him earlier”

“Dream?” The siren questioned, eyes widening “I know him! He’s practically my best friend”

“Can you bring him to us?” Sapnap questioned quickly, own signs of insecurity more visible than he’d like. 

“Well, I don’t know  _ where  _ he is” He admitted cheekily, smiling at the onyx eyes that finally looked at him “but if you swim with me for a bit I promise you’ll find him”

Sapnap seemed iffy but smirked anyway “Fine, I’ll go swimming with you”

“Great!” The siren giggled, innocent in the way he flapped his webbed fingers “I’m Karl by the way, what is your name?”

“Sapnap” The raven said, floating up so he was eye to eye with the purple siren. 

Karl grabbed Sapnap by the wrist, pulling the larger siren away from the clearing and closer to the surface of the ocean. They left George and Bad, the purple siren chatting so much the raven barely had time to question it. 

“Do you think he was hitting on Sapnap” Bad wondered, seeing his friend disappear under the flood of other sirens. 

George only shrugged, leaning his head on his palms “Don’t care”

“Maybe he was trying to get together with him!” Bad gasped, a warm smile on his face “that’s so cute, imagine he gets himself a siren boyfriend”

“Bad” George said sternly, glaring at aqua eyes “ _ we _ cannot get together with sirens, it’s wrong”

Bad’s bright eyes died down, glancing away to look at all the other sirens swimming around them. Some were chasing each other around, others were putting sea flowers in their hair, and some were just cuddling close in the sand. Such acts of intimacy none of them have experienced before. 

Occasionally, some smaller tailed sirens would chirp at the older sirens swimming by, winking or waving their hands in a flirtatious manner. Usually they’d start up a conversation and begin to talk, or one would just ignore the other. 

“I want a flower in my hair” Bad sighed longingly “they look so  _ soft _ ”

There was something strange about becoming a siren that George just couldn’t put his finger on. It was like a trigger in his brain switched, feelings he never got before from seeing couples around him.  _ Sure _ , he should’ve wanted a girlfriend every now and then but now he really only wanted to see one pair of eyes looking at him. 

Ever since Sapnap left them, more stronger looking sirens were glancing their way, swimming more towards them with little regard to how they cared. 

After a moment, a more confident siren with a blue tail approached them, dark hair puffed up on the top. He had a few orange flowers in his hand and a kind smile, amber eyes complimenting his darker skin. 

“Why hello there” Bad chirped, interested in talking to someone other than the moody brunette. 

“Hi” The blue siren chimed, nervously placing the flowers near Bad’s tail “how are you tonight”

Bad hummed in approval “I’m doing swell, thank you for asking”

When George glanced at his friend, he could see him winking in glee.  _ Such an idiot _ . 

“Of course” The amber eyed siren purred, seemingly happy that his encounter skills were going well “would you like to swim with me?”

Webbed fingers shyly played with the orange flowers, Bad chuckling as he placed one in his hair “I would love to!”

The other siren grinned, ready to take off and go in the direction where Karl disappeared to. Bad was also about to follow suit but stopped for a moment to check back in on George. 

“Will you be okay here?” The red tail siren asked, noticing how tired and worried the older boy looked “I can stay if you want”

George took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. He really didn’t want to ruin his friend's night, this was supposed to be a festival to have fun in. Learn siren culture and more about their people. Know more about Dream and what his life was like. 

But as Tubbo said before, It was also where older sirens started to fall in love.

He did not want to take that away from his friend. 

“I’ll be okay” George assured, finally managing to look at Bad with a forced smile “have fun”

Bad grinned warmly, taking one last look before following behind the blue tailed siren, leaving the brunette alone at the sandy floor. 

It was quiet now. Most of the lingering sirens were swimming around, more pairs and less lonely sirens. They all looked so happy in each other's embraces, chatting away or petting at each other. Some friend groups were wrestling around on the side, but he was the only one in the area alone. 

He didn’t understand the feelings that burned at his chest, all he knew is that he hated it. The last thing he wanted was to be alone. 

Tracing shapes into the sandy floor with his fingers, he could feel the presence of another siren nearing him. He begged that it wouldn’t be someone trying to hook up with him, eyes squeezing shut in hopes that they would see how uncomfortable he was. 

No voice spoke to him, it was quiet all around him as something sat next to him. 

George finally opened his eyes, looking to his left to see the elder siren sitting next to him. _ Oh god I’m gonna be hit on by an old man _ , he thought in horror. 

“I have no plans of courting anything” The older siren laughed, making the brunette tense up. 

“I didn’t say that outloud did I?” George choked out, nibbling on his lip “I’m sorry-”

The elderly siren barked out another laugh, wrinkles clear on his face “It’s completely fine, you don’t have the instincts a siren would have. Not your fault”

George settled uncomfortable, looking back toward the swimming colors above. A school of fish had made their way through, passing freely around him. 

“I thought you would go enjoy siren culture more” The grey haired siren admitted “your friends seem to be having a grand time”

Brown eyes flickered to where the elder was looking, seeing Bad and Sapnap swimming above. They both appeared to be having fun, casual smiles on their faces while they talked to their new friends. Orange and green petals broke off and floated down to the ground, a rainfall of different colors as more flowers mixed in.

It was a beautiful sight. 

“Just got a little distracted” George muttered, thinking of the stupid green tailed siren who he expected to see by now. 

“Is that so” The elder hummed, relaxing as more fish swam near him. It was if they knew who he was, like it was safe to be near such a creature. 

“Did you know sirens have only one partner their whole life” The siren spoke, old age clear in his words. Sounding of many tall telling stories from life experiences “It should be scary to pick one person to spend your life with, knowing if you choose wrong or they pass away, you’ll be alone for the rest of your days”

George thought for a moment. Humans didn’t have that type of relationships, they could choose whoever they wanted with no strings attached. If he had a heart break or if a lover passed away, he could always move on. 

Not easily, but it would be possible. 

His mind flickered to Dream. The close call moments where he had the blonde wrapped in his arms, unsure if he would make it or not. His reassuring smile spread on freckled face, telling him he’d be fine. Confidence that he could overcome any challenge like he could take on the world. 

If Dream passed away, could he move on? He barely knows him but they’ve gone through so much together, he can’t even imagine life without the blonde. It’d be so strange after growing such an attachment. 

Or the other way around, if Dream cared for him the same way and he passed away. Leaving Dream alone, unable to forget or move on, just waiting for something to never come. It broke him and he couldn’t understand why.

Deep down, even after returning human, he wanted to continue being by Dream’s side. 

“Don’t have such a sour look” The elder chuckled, patting the younger on the back “It really isn’t scary for Sirens, we enjoy it. We’ll have a connection with that special someone even through lifetimes. So it’s important for us to find someone early and accept them”   
“What are you implying with that” George wondered, not trying to accuse but understand “Why are you telling me this”

The elder sirens face went cold, seriousness plastered on his face as he turned to the brunette “maybe you don’t know..”

A shiver went down George's back as the water seemed to get colder. The old siren's eyes didn’t hold resentment but pain, like he’s seen the world happen twice before. It made his bones ache as he stood to leave. 

“I’m gonna go swim around” George muttered, trying to not look into the older man's eyes “gonna try out siren culture’   
He didn’t wait for a reply, just swam off to another area of the clearing, far off so he wouldn’t be seen under watchful eyes. No matter how long he swam though, it was like the eyes never left. Words dangerous in his brain. 

_ Sirens attachment is a scary thing. _

While George swam near some other sirens who were handing out sea flowers, he saw blonde hair pop up from a distance. The curls were easy to spot, softly rubbing down to his nape. So close, yet so far. 

Dream was surrounded by some female sirens, gushing over the flowers in his arms. It looked as if he was doing the same thing the blue tailed siren did earlier, presenting them to Bad before they swam off. 

Was he trying to flirt with them or something?

George could feel the jealousy wrap around his heart. He wanted to shake the other Sirens off of him, push them away and tell them he was his. It irked him to see the arms clasping around his biceps, giggling in his ear. 

He knows he should let Dream form an attachment with another Siren, let him fall in love the correct way. He had no right, no control, over what the taller siren did as he didn’t belong to him. All he could do was watch, but even that he didn’t want. 

So he swam off, rushing away to kill off all the bad thoughts that plagued his mind. Why did he wish so badly to be a Siren, to have an attachment with Dream. Feel his arms around him, holding him close. 

George couldn’t breath, not even realizing the speed he was going was too much for his body to handle. His lungs burned as he gasped water, too far away from where he started. There were only very far away noises now, the light barely casting over his cheek as he was faced with the darker ocean. 

His eyes hurt, bringing fingers to his cheek as he remembered the stinging of tears burning his eyes when he was human. As a siren it felt different, stinging as more water creeped through. 

How was he like this? When did everything change so much that he cared for the blonde. It shouldn't be possible, it couldn’t be. Yet seeing all those sirens coupling up he couldn’t help but wish Dream would come from the side, grab him and take him away from the suffocating ground. 

A careful hand pressured on his shoulder, making the brunette tense up at the unexpected feeling “..George?”

George turned around to see the blinding green eyes, looking at him nervously, freckles dancing on his flushed cheeks. He looked out of breath. 

“Dream” George inhaled, hoping his eyes wouldn’t be red “Why are you here”

Dream tilted his head in confusion, like it was the dumbest question he heard all night “You were swimming off this way, so I followed”

The flowers from earlier were still in the blondes arms, dark blue near purple sea flower petals dripping off slowly. Those flowers were most likely meant for some other prettier Siren, not for him. 

“Oh” George mumbled, looking down, guilt pooling in his gut. How could he ruin the others chances with a lifelong companionship. Like the elder said, Sirens stayed for life, he had no place or room in his heart. 

The brunette couldn’t lift his head as the stinging got worse. This was the worst night of his life, second only to the night he even got himself involved with the siren. Stuck in front of the blonde, humiliation filling his whole being. 

A gentle hand caressed his cheek, lifting him up to see warm green eyes “George, why are your eyes so shiny?”

George shuddered against the touch, warmth he hadn’t known before warming his cheek.

“I was crying” The brunette admitted in embarrassment, cheeks flaming up “just shut up about it”

“Crying?” Dream wondered aloud, seeming insensitive to the sadness the other was feeling “what is that?”

“What do you mean, what is that?” George asked, ripping himself away from the bad thoughts “you don’t know what crying is?”   
“Is that wrong?” Dream tilted his head again, innocent but curious eyes gazing at him. 

It was like all the thoughts of Dream leaving him vanished, seeing the stupid but cute face begging for an answer. 

George chuckled a bit, making the blonde narrow his gaze “Why are you laughing?”   
That only made George laugh harder, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth as giggles erupted from him, not being able to breath over his laughter. 

“Stop laughing!” Dream pouted “What’s so funny?”

“How do you not know what crying is” George chuckled, feeling his eyes sting again but for a completely different reason “everyone does it”

“Sirens don’t” Dream huffed, turning his head away. 

George kept giggling, a brighter smile clinging to his lips “People usually cry when they’re really sad or really happy, and water comes from their eyes”

Dream stilled for a moment, biting his lip “are you crying because you’re sad?”

The smile tugging at his lips didn’t fade and George grinned “No, not anymore”

A matching smile appeared on the blonde's lips as he grabbed at the flowers in his arms. As if in slow motion, hands placed a flower behind his ear. It tickles his head, almost making him flinch. 

“Dream?” George asked, brown eyes wide as they stared at the taller siren.

A bright blush flushed on the freckled face “It took me a really long time to get my hands on these, so don’t even think about brushing them off”

George didn’t brush them off. Instead, he remained still as the blonde placed many flowers in his brown curls, humming softly. It felt nice to feel fingers at his scalp, a feeling he wasn’t used to. 

The affection of having green eyes all to himself was a lot to handle, but it was addicting. Waiting patiently until all the flowers were in his hair, Dream finally huffed, happy and proud at his accomplishment. It was really adorable to see. 

“I did it!” The blonde cheered, not even bothering to explain the significance of the flowers. 

“Congratulations” George said softly, taking in the way green eyes sparkled “you did it”

Dream smiled a closed eyes smile, wrapping his arms around Georges waist affectionately “Do you want to swim together”

George blushed shyly “I-isn’t this meant for someone you love”

“Sirens do this for sirens they deeply care for..” Dream trailed off, taking in the brown eyes that blinked slowly at him “family members or.. Lovers”

The webbed fingers that tapped nervously at his hip gave the blonde away, but George only smiled in stead “Dream, I’m not your family”

“I’m aware” Dream finally sighed, bringing his embrace closer “do you want to swim together or not”

George chuckled at the impatience “Of course I do”

It was strange but welcoming as the green tail surrounded his own, keeping them close together as Dream floated them back toward the common area. He was laying on his back, arms around the brunette who just relaxed on top, swimming slowly against a light current. 

“This is nice” George mumbled, taking the time to relax under the new embrace “didn’t know this is how sirens swam together”

Dream chuckled a bit “Every siren is different”   
George hummed “I really like the flowers, it’s a very pretty blue”

“They’re purple” Dream admitted, seeing the brunette pout a bit “a very deep purple too”

“I’m color blind” George said, not caring in the way the blonde gasped. 

“Disabled and emotional?” Dream didn’t appreciate the light wack on his head but he shut up. 

“You’re such an idiot” George giggled, loving the smile creep up on the others lips. 

They floated there for a while, not really talking, just enjoying their presence. Sirens swam around them, giving them glances they didn’t care about. It was like they were the only ones in the world. Just them, floating around the sea. 

Bad and the blue tailed siren passed a few times, giving them strange looks. They seemed to be getting along, just swimming side by side, confused by such an intimate act. When Sapnap and Karl passed, they cheered a  _ little  _ too loudly. 

Eventually a lot of the commotion went down, sirens going back to their nests leaving George and Dream alone in the waters. They didn’t exactly have their own nests to return to. 

Twinkling of the sun rising in the distance, lighting up green orbs made George want to save the image to his brain. To stay that way for as long as he could, taking in the sights. 

“Hey Dream” George asked sleepily, just barely noticing how Dream was leading him to a separate area of the territory. It was mostly secluded, rocks barriering it quite well against the sun and plants hid the area nicely. 

“Yes George” Dream replied, taking them inside the small cave carefully. 

George took a moment to appreciate the soft sand around him, wanting to just cuddle inside and sleep for a long time. Forget about any troubles of tomorrow and just let his eyes rest. 

“Do you like it?” Dream whispered, falling back into the nest happily “It’s been a while since I made one but I tried my best”

George nodded tiredly, laying down next to the blonde “It’s great”

The two stared at each other, sun unable to interrupt as their silence filled the cave. 

There was so much to talk about. To ask what they were, if Dream had an attachment to him, if he liked Dream back. Wonder why Dream gave him the flowers and swam with him, why he chose him when there were so many other options. 

Soft lips reach toward him, barely touching, waiting for some sort of consent that it was okay to do it. The blonde curls that tickled his cheek was pleasant, being just enough sleep deprived to allow himself to press forward and letting them connect. 

The selfish and possessive thoughts rustled inside George's mind,wanting to be kept by Dream, safe in his arms. It swirled around in his brain as they lulled him to a comforting sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little reminder here, I try my best to educate myself on content creators boundaries. Karl said he was ok with fanfics but never specified his limits, so just for this story I’m keeping Sapnap and Karl’s relationship completely platonic, sorry if it might seem suggestive. Also I’m pretty sure Bad and Skeppy are okay with it, but I’ll do more research later to determine if I’ll keep their relationship platonic or not :)


	10. Night Part Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to say goodbye

The next morning was a quiet one. No creature was stirring around and most fish were quiet enough to let the siren's rest. It was peaceful as the sun began to start falling over the horizon, casting it’s orange hue throughout the sea. 

Dream was the first to awake, met with dark eyelashes fluttering peacefully against pale cheeks. It was an unusual sight but welcomed as the blonde carefully placed a hand in Georges soft curls. 

It was hard to accept at first, to know he had an attachment to George. He cared for the human more than he let on. 

Even though he knew they could never work out, that a siren and human could never fully attach themselves, he decided he would be selfish for once in his life.  _ He  _ wanted to be happy, and if that meant keeping George all to himself then so be it. As he told himself while picking blue flowers the night before, that he would hold him close until they parted, and then he would leave once George became human. 

A bitter smile reached Dream’s lips as a small mumble came from the brunette. He looked so peaceful and warm, it was hard not to hug the human as hard as he could. Eventually though, he had to get ready for the day. 

_ I’ll let him sleep a little longer _ , Dream thought while petting curls away from the shorter sirens eyes. As he got up and left their cavern, he couldn’t help but appreciate the warm glow George brought into his life. 

Dream swam off to find the village leader as he remembered the talk he had with himself the night prior to the festival. Having George as his partner while he was still siren required a lot of responsibility, knowing that the human didn’t understand those sorts of things. It was nice that their feelings were mutual but they still wouldn’t be able to forget the dark past that brought them together in the first place. 

The reason George was a siren, bounty hunting pirates, and a weird demi-god siren. All of these things were problems he didn’t know how to handle. 

Dream made his way to the Village leader who sat peacefully in his nest, a few younger sirens listening to the older siren’s tales. 

“And then, a scary sea witch started to steal the young sirens scales!” The village leader roared, making some of the child sirens shake in fear “trying to eat him-”

“Stop frightening them” Dream sighed, trying to muffle the bubbles of laughter rising in his chest “sea witches don’t live around here”

The village leader chuckled, shooing off the younger sirens “alright alright, you caught me in my tales, story times over pups go back to your family”

Some of the young sirens complained, wanting to hear more of the story, but were eventually kicked out by the blonde. A few of their mutterings could be heard outside of the nest area, cursing about how stupid a sea witch sounded. 

“I see you’ve slept in” The elder siren smiled, making himself comfortable in his sandy area “what’s your plans for today?”

“We’re probably gonna leave today” Dream admitted, thinking of how they needed to find another track about Technoblade “not sure where but hopefully we can find a lead”

The village leader hummed “Sounds like a plan, but are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“No” Dream chuckled, laughing off the lingering anxiety he felt about the trip “probably not, but there isn’t much of choice”

That wasn’t true and Dream knew that. He could stay at the village and convince the humans to remain sirens. It was peaceful in the clearings and had plenty of food. The waters were warm and plants were lucious. There wasn’t a single reason to leave except for the sole fact that George, Sapnap, and Bad weren’t meant to be sirens. 

Their home wasn’t the same as his. 

“Village leader, I was thinking about what you were saying”

The elder siren looked up from his sandy pile, looking a bit confused. 

“And you’re right, I should go for him”

Dream wasn’t afraid of death anymore. Fearing the unknown hands of darkness trying to pull out his scales or seeing his dead mother calling for him from above. He had a purpose now, something to do that he decided. 

“I really like him” The blonde siren grinned “so I’m gonna follow him wherever he goes”

“Even when he turns human?”

The village leader only shook his head at the rash look in the youthful siren. It was clear Dream was willing to make the most impulsive decisions over an attachment. 

“Yes, if I can, I plan to turn human,” Dream admitted, thinking back to all the times his mother told him the siren lore of having legs. How happy she would be at his decision, to do the one thing she always wanted. “Which means this might be my final goodbye to you”

“That’s exciting to hear” The village leader chuckled, not even bothering on the loneliness they both felt “I hope you enjoy the journey”

“I will” Dream smiled, slightly nervous to mention to the humans of his new plan “but before I go, I wanted to ask if you knew about these”

Dream held out a pink stone that glittered so carefully. It was soft but had a powerful feeling to it. It was almost as if it had survived years of damage. 

“Oh, I’m surprised you’ve found that” The village leader admitted, frowning slightly “that’s a magic stone, not many are in the waters anymore but they still are very powerful things”

“How powerful?”

The village leader thought for a moment “It depends on the person wielding the stone, but potentially it could make a siren human with the correct care”

Dream felt inspiration fill his body. If he had enough power, he could use the stone to turn everyone back. They could find a nice sandy area and get legs, and maybe, if possible, he could even join them. But, it was only possible if he had the power to. 

“Do you think I could turn everyone back human?” Dream asked, playing with the stone “I could save everyone”

“No, you would need a siren who knows how to use magic” The village leader explained carefully “purebred sirens are able to easily use magic but”

For some reason the look Dream was getting from the Village leader made him nervous, like he knew something he didn’t wish to share. 

“You’re not a purebred siren”

Dream stilled, all hope vanishing. Sure, the Village leader was strong but not strong enough to hold magic. No siren knew magic either which inevitably meant. 

_ They were screwed.  _

“There is one siren I know though” Dream looked up from the shade around his eyes “A siren living more North, he might have the power to turn everyone back”

“Do you really think he can do it” Dream whispered, trying to think of all the possible scenarios “Is it even possible”

“I don’t know, but he’s your best chance” the Village leader admitted with a huff “his names Philza, a very nice and old siren, if you manage to meet him tell him I said hello”

Dream smiled at the jab of hope, knowing he had someone who believed in him. If the village leader trusted him, he was willing to take the chance. 

“I will, thank you” Dream brightened up, feeling more confident than when he entered “and village leader?”

The village leader looked up a final time, meeting with sparkling green orbs “hope we’ll see eachother again”

  
  


The journey leaving was a rough one to make. After only settling into the village for one day, nobody really wanted to leave. They lost their initial goal for coming to the safe area in the first place. Worst of all, they were gaining attachments. 

They were all piled up at the entrance of the village, watching sirens waving at them in farewell. 

“I don’t want to leave” Bad whimpered, holding onto Sapnaps hand “they were all so sweet and one of the sirens even gave me flowers!”

“I know Bad” Sapnap sympathized, trying to comfort the more sensitive human “but we need to return”

Dream watched the regretful look in onyx eyes. He didn’t want to voice his opinion, but he felt bad for the trio. After they became human once again, they would most likely never see these sirens ever. 

But if they did try and go back to the other sirens returning as a human, he could guarantee that they would not be welcomed with open arms. 

“Come on, Bad” George insisted, holding his head high despite a knowing look “sirens and humans aren’t meant to be together”

Something about the way George said that made Dreams heart rip into tiny pieces.  _ Sirens and humans aren’t meant to be together.  _

They didn’t talk about their feelings that morning when they met up. In fact, they mostly acted as if it never happened and it was a bad dream. Even though those warm doey brown eyes were staring at him with so much acceptance the night before, they were now stone cold and distant. Shielding him away from any kind of insecurities held in his mind. 

Did his mind change? Was he no longer interested in being with a siren? Maybe the festival had him overthinking and making decisions he would rather not. 

Dream had no idea but he had to accept the bitterness of the words and tried to move on. 

“Let’s go,” George ushered before quickly making haste out of the village. 

Sapnap and Bad stayed behind with Dream for a second, curiosity and pain in their eyes. Normally, if a human saw them reacting that way, they would think they were overreacting. Dream knew though, he knew the genuine pain they felt. 

“Why does my heart hurt, Dream” Bad mumbled, staring back into the swarm of moving sirens, trying to find a specific pair of eyes “I know we need to leave but I don’t want to”

Sapnap had a pained expression as well, he didn’t even bother looking at the purple tailed siren in the front of the crowd “It’s just saying goodbye, it shouldn't be difficult”

Dream didn’t have the heart to tell them. Knowledge of siren attachment, the pain they would feel when losing someone they’ve attached themselves to. How difficult it is for sirens to live without someone they’ve bonded with, the severity of it, sometimes even leading to an early death. 

He kept it to himself because he knew one day they would turn back human and the bonds of a siren attachment would be gone. Their feelings to the sirens would lessen and they’d have the strength to move on. Live a happier life and meet someone new.

But most of all, he kept it to himself because he didn’t want to burden them with the thought. Images of those sirens they’ve attached themselves to living without ever finding someone new. Forced to live with broken attachments for the rest of their lives. 

“Don’t worry about it” Dream sighed, burden seeping into his bones “you’ll forget about it all once you’re human”

Dream didn’t bother to stay looking at the confused expressions, instead following quickly behind George who hadn’t looked back once. 

He knew what he was getting himself into. From the beginning, since his attachment to George, he knew his feelings may not be accepted. He managed to accept the pain that would come but those sirens, oblivious to the secret identities of the humans, would never know why they never came back or returned. 

His eyes stung and he couldn’t stop the heartfelt pain of saying goodbye. 

Sniffling could be heard from behind but he chose to ignore it. He knew Sapnap and Bad were crying, George taught him what it was. Yet he had a suspicion it wasn’t the happy crying from the night before… 

  
  


The silence was loud as they continued the long journey. 

Bad and Sapnap calmed down a while ago, faces grim as they continued on their paths. Frowns hung as their lips as they swam side by side for comfort. It was somewhat sweet but hurt to watch. 

Dream was in front, George barely trailing next to him, looking for some sort of indication of siren tracts. Any clue would be worth their while. 

“Hey Dream” George mumbled, barely even heard over how deathly quiet everything was “we should take a break”

Dream ignored him, continuing on the path. He knew everyone had to be tired after hours of swimming but he didn’t care. It didn’t matter if his fins were sore and achy, he needed to keep moving to distract his mind. 

“Dream” George insisted, louder this time. 

More ushering of words could be heard until George finally stopped in his tracts, Sapnap and Bad following suite. Their eyes were dead and tired, looking to the blonde as if he caused the situation to happen. 

“ _ Dream _ , we’re tired and sore, we want to take a break”

The blonde siren stilled, quietly nodding “Alright, we can settle here then”

Bad sighed in relief, swimming down to the ocean floor to get comfortable. His red tail blended in with pieces of coral as he rested his head, more relaxing than the first time they slept in the sea. 

“Finally” Sapnap groaned, stretching his body “thought we’d never slow down”

George chuckled a bit as his friends goofiness, looking to Dream for the same reaction only finding a solemn look. 

“Anyway, I’m catching some snooze, wake me up when we’re going”

And like that, Sapnap was cuddling besides Bad under the warm sand. They looked comfortable as they closed their eyes, entrusting their safety into the more experienced siren. 

That left George and Dream alone to discuss whatever was on their mind, relation issues or not. Whatever concerns they had or secrets they were hiding, it was the perfect time to let everything out. 

“Dream-”

Dream took tail and swam near the surface coral, sitting away from the others. 

George winced at the avoidance, but followed the blonde anyway. He took a seat next to the other, trying to ignore how he wasn’t even looked at. 

“Stop ignoring me, Dream” George muttered, looking at the tanner neck facing him “please”

Dream turned to look at the brunette, face full of betrayal and sadness. He looked hurt, eyes turning just the pinkish shade. 

“What do you want” Dream muttered, voice just the bit shaky “you should be resting with the others”

George stopped, eyes widening at the sight he never wanted to see “Dream..”

“What” The siren growled, burnt up anger stale and bitter surrounding “If it isn’t important then leave”

“Why are you trying to push me away?” George shouted, resting a gentle hand on the still healing shoulder, only for it to be pushed off as soon as he placed it. 

“Don’t touch me” Dream hissed, narrowing his eyes, so different from the warm accepting ones. He had the same eyes as the time they met, untrusting and insulted. 

The brunette held his hand close to his chest, baffled by the mistreatment. 

“What is up with you!” George cried “why are you acting this way? We were fine last night, what happened!”

Dream tensed up, looking begrudgingly at the sand floor, webbed hands clenched at his sides. He didn’t have enough confidence to look up as he said painful words “you said, sirens and humans aren’t meant to be together”

George went silent, watching the shaky shoulders waver, blonde hair covering most of the freckled face. The siren looked so miserable, beat up with scars all over his body and wounds still healing. Most of which were from him, Dream protecting him. 

“Dream-”

“I thought, I don’t know, maybe we had something we could handle together” Dream chuckled brokenly, lifting his head and staring off into the empty sea “but it’d be impossible with me being siren and you-”

Dream looked to George, brown eyes large, giving him his full attention. He couldn’t believe he was acting pathetically at something none of them could control.

Of course, they couldn’t last forever. It wasn’t George’s fault, or his fault, that they managed to fall for eachother, it just happened. There was no planning and neither of them started off expecting this would happen. It just did, as if it was always meant to happen. 

Brown fluffy hair ticked his chin as George snuggled under him, wrapping both arms around the larger chest, his warm cheeks right up against his throat. It was nice but felt so painfully, he felt guilty for liking it so much. 

The hug was addicting and as they remained there in silence, he didn’t want it to end. He wanted to be with George so badly, he never wanted the man to leave his side. 

Unreasonable thoughts flashed in his mind of sabotaging the humans way of becoming human. Killing the magic sirens, hiding the stones, or burning down any bridges that could possibly return them. But, as bloodshot drowsy eyes looked at him, he knew he could never go through with it. 

They deserved to go home and be with other humans. He had no right to keep George here with him. 

“I.. I don’t want you to leave me” Dream whimpered, letting any hard walls disappear. 

“I’m sorry, Dream” George said regretfully, petting away blonde curls “I’m so sorry”

Dream knew the answer he couldn’t say. Yet, he accepted it. He always has and never will forget the inevitable. 

“Do you think..” Dream mumbled, holding the shorter siren close “even if we can’t stay together forever, can we appreciate the time we have now”

George mouth rose in a smile but his pained eyes did not follow “Of course, Dream”

Dream rested soft lips onto Georges, savoring how sweet and warm everything felt. As brown eyes fluttered closed against pale cheeks, sinking in further to his touch, he could feel the arms around him tighten so lovingly. 

It would be difficult, but he could learn. 

Learn how to say goodbye. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this chapter, I actually cried when writing it because I'm emotional :) Have a good day ! <3


	11. Dawn Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream, George, Sapnap, and Bad come face to face with old enemies.

Early morning swims weren’t Dream’s favorites. His tail was always cramped from sleep and the water was always too cold for him. Even the varying fish around him were moving slow against him, but at least they were faster than the humans fewer feet behind. 

“Oh my god” Dream mumbled to himself, glaring at a fish right next to him “you’d think they’d get used to this by now-”

“We can hear you!” Sapnap shouted over the waves, making the blonde snort “why is everything freezing!”

George rolled his eyes, feeling his own fins cramping up “we get it Sapnap, it’s cold, but there isn’t much we can do.”

“George hug me” Bad complained from the side, wrapping a kind arm around the brunette’s neck “let’s keep warm with body heat”

Sapnap huffed a breathe “Bad, that’s weird”

“What’s weird about it” Bad asked in pure innocence, completely oblivious to the glaring green eyes looking behind him “It’s cold and George is warm”

“Yeah, and you’re cold as well” George sassed, pushing the lingering arm off himself “Dream, slow the hell down, my legs are gonna fall off”

“You don’t have legs, doofus” Sapnap remarked, smirking at the angry brown eyes. 

George rolled them “You know what I meant”

Dream was way ahead of them and didn’t feel like slowing down all too much. If he did, his tail most definitely would give out. 

“The more you swim, the warmer you’ll get” Dream remarked, trying to keep the smirk off his lips while the sirens behind him continued bickering. 

Currently the four of them were traveling North toward the potential siren they were trying to find. He hadn’t gone in too much detail with the others, but if they did know, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. It would only scare them at the thought, some scary magical siren that could keep them siren or human forever. 

If he was being completely honest himself, he was just as terrified. He had no idea what kind of potential power this siren contained, the fact that it was hidden away from sights and nobody has seen them in years. 

Hell, they didn’t even know if he was alive. 

“Sapnap, get off of me!” George’s shouts brought the blonde back, whipping his head around to see the raven haired siren’s arms wrapped around the brunette’s waist. 

“Why are you so warm Georgie?” Sapnap exclaimed, pressing himself closer. 

To any human, it would just look like two good friends, plain and simple. Yet to Dream, it made him want to skin the siren alive. 

It took a lot of restraint, but Dream just calmly swam back to the trio who were messing around with the unexpected brunette. As soon as he loomed over them, towering against them, fins just on the cusp of flaring, the brunette was let go. 

George stared up at him with a little more reservation in his eyes, but didn’t fall into being compliant “Stop being weird Dream”

Dream was taken aback at the statement. He assumed after their discussion the day before, about how they should spend the time they have now, that George would be warm with him. Yet, it felt like the complete opposite. 

It was as if nothing changed. They were still just as close before, trying to figure out the whole situation. No cuddling close like a normal couple, or even swimming next to each other. 

He tried not to show the frown on his face, he really attempted, but he just felt so hurt. How could George treat him this way, it had to be some new level of abandon. 

“George..” Dream mumbled, getting a role of the others eyes “George, I’m cold too you know”

George practically scoffed, moving ahead without a care “You all are just stealing me for my warm blood, warm up yourself”

The whipped sirens lagged behind, still frozen in their tails, yet found some sort of amusement in the brunettes attitude. Complaining loudly just to irk the blue tailed siren, chuckling softly each time the man gave a sassy remark. 

Although Dream was slightly peeved he wasn’t getting the special treatment, he rubbed it off once Sapnap nudged his shoulder. 

“Don’t worry buddy, I can keep you warm” Sapnap giggled, wrapping his arms around the blonde. 

“Dude, no” Dream chuckled, not even attempting to roll the raven off “you’re colder than me, what the hell”

They wrestled around comfortably for a few more minutes, getting spared exhausted looks from Bad and George, who only found little restraint in themselves not to laugh. It was all fun and games, until Sapnap toppled over, making way for Dream to realize the current in the ocean had changed. 

Earlier it was cool and peaceful, fish still present nearby, but now it was sinisterly quiet. The surface still had rumbles, getting slightly louder, but there were no other creatures nearby. Meaning, something was wrong, and he felt it stirring. 

“Dream?” George asked, poking the blondes face “Hey, we need to keep going”

But Dream wasn’t listening anymore, his attention lied elsewhere. He stared up toward the siren in wide eyes, swimming upward so he could break through the surface of the water. 

As he stared into the dry air, he saw it. A gigantic ship making its way towards them, a familiar flag hoisted about. It waved proudly against the grey skies, but something about it felt less proud than he originally remembered. 

Bad was beside him in the next minute, staring widely toward the ship “no way, is that?”

George and Sapnap were next, popping up behind with bewildered expressions. All they could do was watch as the ship loomed toward them, growing at an alarming speed. The sound of people shouting and blaring were heard. 

“The queen’s ship” Sapnap begrudgingly remarked, eyes narrowing toward the object. 

George shook in annoyance, defensive in the way he slugged behind “It’s Wilbur’s crew”

Dream squinted his eyes at the ship, stilling in its presence. The queen’s crew were a stroudy bunch, but they had a history with them. After all, they both were at Technoblade’s cave, perhaps he could strike a deal with the humans. 

His intuition was rarely wrong about a person, and based on the human child that saved his captain's life, what was his name Tommy? He felt they could potentially be useful. The only thing was, were they willing to listen?

As the ship came closer and still in front, human bodies began to glance toward them. Different shades of hairs and arms flung towards them, shouting loudly at the distraction. Near the front were familiar people, one man and one boy. 

“It’s the fucking fish, again!” Tommy shouted across the ocean, pointing a wild finger at them “look at em Wilbur! Pathetic bunch aye?”

Wilbur glared down at the boy, appearing annoyed at the sight of immaturity “Tommy, get the nets”

Dream wanted to groan. The last thing he wanted was to deal with nets again, last time his scar took forever to heal. Plus, they burn. 

“Wait!” Dream shouted, making Wilbur stop in his tracks “we want to speak with you”

Wilbur chuckled darkly, glaring down to the sirens below “Why would we want to speak with sirens? Nevertheless, sirens of an enemy ship”

Bad and Sapnap regretfully looked away while George kept his stare, too prideful to submit to the accusations. After all, both had been enemies since Dream could remember. 

“And a siren who tried to kill me”

Dream was starting to realize that this wasn’t such a great idea anymore. 

“We need your help” George called, looking rather serious with his request “we got turned siren and we need to find someone to turn us back”

Booming laughter raged from the ship, many of the men chuckling at the sight under them. They appeared too proud to care, to even acknowledge the idea of a helping an in need siren. It was as if they were just as bad as George’s original crew.

But, Dream wasn’t about to give up just yet. 

“We can give you secret Siren information” Dream offered, cringing internally at the betrayal “I can tell you all I know about the Siren that almost killed you”

Wilbur didn’t look convinced, but Tommy who stood behind him looked just the bit interested. It made Dream wonder, why was the blonde looking at him so intently. He didn’t look scared or interested, rather, he looked like he was angry. 

“Why would we want such information?” Wilbur scoffed, crossing his arms confidently “how about, if you can get Captain George to lick my boot I’ll think about it”

Dream glared, his veins rushing with blood, anger pooling into his fists. Humans were such trash, he wanted to throw them over the boat edge and line their carcasses with fish meat. Leave them for the sharks. 

“I can give you my crew's private information” George said casually, rubbing away the insult he just faced, as if it never even happened “locations, plans, where we were heading, what we were looking for.” The brunette hesitated for a moment “What we have.”

Wilbur stopped his chuckling and stilled. It seemed he was debating a few things over before glancing at Tommy. The blonde was still glancing toward Dream, eyes practically flaring in rage. 

“Alright” Wilbur sighed, looking at a few crewmates “latch open the sides, I want to speak with the sirens”

The side of the ship opened to make a dock, Wilbur and Tommy stepping out to chat. Dream and the others were waiting right in front of it, eyes hardening at the clear trade taking place. 

“Okay, now” Wilbur started, crossing the platform with ease “tell me what you know about your crew”

George’s eyes widened in disbelief “Why would I tell you? You haven’t even told us anything yet!”

Wilbur was ready to argue but Dream just nudged George “No, just tell them, I promise they won’t betray us”

George hesitated before spilling. He let everything out, all the dark secrets of their plans. He explained how they were following further orders from rebels of the queen, how they were looking for siren scales to sell on the black market, looking for a specific siren tribe they were never able to identify. 

All these facts that spurted from the brunette's mouth made Dream sick to his stomach. He knew what George was looking for, after all, he was talking about his tribe. It didn’t surprise him though, he knew what the humans were like before, he hadn’t forgotten. Yet, some part of him still felt relatively disappointed. 

Wilbur sucked in a breath, chuckling slightly “That’s so fucked up, George, never thought your crew would fall so low”

“Yeah, well, neither did I” George mumbled, staring down toward the darkness of the sea. 

Dream wanted to comfort the brunette, but he knew he couldn’t. If he gave him some sort of comfort and told him it was okay, he’d be a liar. He still needed to stick true to his species. 

“How ironic” Wilbur decided with a quick laugh “first you go out and kill sirens, now you are one”

None of the humans said anything, just glared down to the sea. It was a pathetic sight, but Dream did not have the time to baby them. It was long in the past now, they needed to focus on the future. 

“We’re gonna fight Techno” Dream stated, earning a few sharp stares “but we can’t do it alone, I need your help”

If Wilbur thought the situation was funny before, he thought it was down right hilarious now. He banged on the side of the ship walls in hysteria, bellowing laughter after laughter. It was as if he cracked the funniest joke in history. 

“Are you insane?!” Wilbur shouted, pointing to the never ending sea “that creature took out nearly my whole crew! I never wanna see that thing again in my life!”

Dream grimace. He couldn’t blame the man, Techno was extremely scary. If he had the option to, he wouldn’t go back either, but he knew Techno had to have some sort of solution to turn them back. 

“We don’t need to fight him yet, we need to find a magic siren” Dream explained, carefully choosing his words “There is one around here, they can defeat Techno, we just need you guys to be on our side once we figure it out” 

Wilbur seemed done with the games, rolling his eyes away from the sirens “Yeah, throw yourself to the devil, nobody can defeat that beast”

Dream remained quiet as Wilbur jabbered on, stealing a quick look at George. The brunette looked exhausted and hopeless. Each turn events with another, it was like they haven’t made a single process since they became sirens. Like the first day they were altered, stuck with an argument match between Wilbur. 

History was just repeating itself. 

“Most we can offer is some food for the troubles” Wilbur explained, not even bothering to look in their direction anymore “You may stay near the boat for awhile as well, if you need, but in five days I want you gone”

With that, the taller man walked away, leaving just the young blonde. He seemed hesitant to follow, looking to Dream with a flash of rage. But, as Dream looked closer, he could tell it wasn’t directed at him. 

“Why are you being so stupid!” Tommy roared once Wilbur was out of sight “a fucking dumb one you are! Why would you go straight to a human ship!?”

Dream tilted his head in confusion, not really understand why the young boy was so mad “It was worth a shot, we don’t have a good lead”

Tommy groaned loudly, rubbing his face aggressively “Oh my god, couldn’t you have found Phil any other way”

Dream perked up at the name, knowing immediately the reference being made. Tommy knew, he knew of the magical siren, he was their hope. It could be possible, they could return human. 

“You know Philza?” Dream gapped, a grin meeting his features “tell us where he is!”

Tommy’s face soured, looking away “Philza and me go way back, I wouldn’t just give up his location”

“Please, we need it” Dream begged, pushing himself up onto the dock so his body was completely out of the water, tail still slightly resting into the liquid “Tommy, this is their only chance of turning back, please”

It was hard to ask, Dream had to admit. The feeling of shame was long gone, he wanted to help George, Bad, and Sapnap, no matter the cost. Even if he was being slightly pathetic. 

“I don’t think Philza had the power you're looking for” Tommy admitted, frowning slightly at the disappointed look “he barely made me human when he was younger, I doubt whatever power he has left can change your friends back”

Dream’s face fell, feeling the hope once again riling back to his secluded mind. Why was it every time they were close to some new chances, it was killed off immediately. 

“He made you human?” Bad asked, perking up at the new interesting conversation. 

Tommy shrugged “Long time ago, he picked me up when I had no family, gave me a home and opportunity to live on land where it was safe”

“He has that type of power?” George interrupted, slightly giddy in his words “there has to be a chance he can turn us back”

“Philza is the greatest siren to exist, he can turn all half-human sirens to full humans” Tommy explained, as if he knew all the secrets to the world “but, even he can’t undo a curse caused by Techno”

Dream stopped, wondering how the blonde knew the siren’s name “how do you know of Techno?”

At this, Tommy began to sweat, looking as if he revealed too much information. He tried to step back to safety but Dream grabbed his ankle, pulling the skinnier boy to the floor with ease.    
“Explain” Dream hissed, not even caring that the human was starting to shake in fear. 

“Listen, all I know is that Techno was very close with Phil, but they eventually went their separate ways” Tommy briefly exclaimed “Phil still missed Techno but the guy has his own family now, he doesn’t need more trouble to add to his life”

Dream nodded, listening intently “I see, do you think you can lead us to him?”

“I just bloody said he doesn’t need anymore troubles!” Tommy shouted, yelping as Sapnap pulled up on the dock next, a killer look in his eyes. Even Dream was impressed at the aggressive behavior. 

“Alright Alright” Tommy chattered, pulling himself away from the deadly sirens “Look, I’ll convince Wilbur to let me lead the ship to Phil, but you guys do not mention what we talked about”

The four sirens looked at each other, giving brief understanding before Dream turned back to the human. 

“Okay, give us your answer tomorrow”

With that, Dream and Sapnap hopped off the dock and back into the now warmer water. Green eyes blazed toward Tommy once more before offering a sharp, toothy grin. After all, they did get what they wanted. 

“Nice to finally meet another siren again”   
  
  


Bad and Sapnap were resting on the floor, playing with rocks. They seemed bored out of their mind, sharing dumb stories, while Dream and George cuddled off where they weren’t seen. 

Dream wrapped his arms around the brunette's waist, holding him tight to his chest. He could feel the warmth of the other, so nice and his. It was all his, just for himself, no one could take it from him. 

“If you keep breathing down my neck like that” George pipped in with a smirk “I will stop this right now”

Dream whined lightly, pulling his head away so his breathing wasn’t as heavy “You’re so mean to me”

George only rolled his eyes at the accusations “I am not”

While the two laid there, glancing up toward the surface of the ocean, everything felt alright. It was as if time was stopping and allowing them to rest their brains from all the traumatic things plaguing their lives. They were finally granted time to just love on each other. 

“Hey Dream” George mumbled, snuggling closer to the blonde despite the argument of being too close “do you really think I’ll be able to turn back”

Dream didn’t really know what to say. If he was honest, he felt hopeful. There were many risks though, and he doubted they would get out of the whole ordeal without any scars. It would be rough but he had a feeling it was possible. 

“Of course” Dream chirped, nuzzling his head to the brunettes “I’m sure everything will become normal again” 

George smiled slightly “Tommy was talking about how Philza could turn sirens human, if they weren’t cursed”

It was as if a brick hit Dream’s gut. He knew where this was going and he didn’t like it. 

“If you could turn human, we could return to land together”

Dream pet mindlessly at the brown curls, noticing how they flowed under the water's lack of pressure. It was calming and allowed him to focus his energy on something else than thinking. He just wanted to relax and let himself enjoy time with George without it being pressuring. 

“Maybe” Dream mumbled, not feeling confident enjoy to express his future plans “If I could, I would follow you to the ends of the earth, but I can’t predict the future”

George hummed lightly, closing his eyes “Neither can I, but I’m sure it’ll be okay”

Dream smiled. Maybe one day everything would be okay, they would look back on everything that happened and be proud of where they were. It would be nice and peaceful, they would live without any type of worries. 

As he drifted his eyes closed, thinking inside his imaginary world, he couldn’t help but feel content on where he was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this chapter, kinda rushed but I do wanna finish this story at least, even if it might not be my best :) I'm gonna go back and edit the previous chapters for spelling mistakes and inconsistencies in the story, while rereading and picking up important details. So the next chapter should be more organized hopefully :3  
> Anyway, leave a kudo or comment would be nice <3 besides that, have a good day!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> If you made it to the end of the chapter I'm gonna assume you find it interesting enough to get this far,  
> I plan to update this story each Sunday or Monday, it should be on a consistent schedule for a few weeks  
> The updates may get more irregular later on just letting you know!  
> Hope you enjoy the story <3
> 
> ~Also, if you want to follow me on twitter for updates or just to become friends it's @cocob0n :) ~


End file.
